Generous Polychrome Santa Clara Jar

This striking jar features a Southwest mainstay in pottery decoration, the avanyu (a plumed serpent).

(1914-1999) Belen Tapia, a Santa Clara potter, was known best for her polychrome redware bowls, jars, wedding vases and plates. She also made prize-winning red and blackware vessels with carved designs.

Tapia was Sara Fina's niece and Margaret Tafoya's first cousin.

The colorful earthtone colors applied to the outside of her polished redwares were derived from colorful clays collected in private locations around the Pararito Plateau. These clays were ground into fine powders before being made into a soupy slip, painted onto Belen's creations by her husband Ernest Tapia.