Olla (Water Jar)

Considered a matriarch of modern Pueblo Pottery, Margaret Tafoya drew on the ceramic style of her mother, Sara Fina Tafoya, as well as the historical pottery of Santa Clara (Kah’p’oo Owinge) and surrounding pueblos. Particularly, Tafoya continued her mother’s innovations in carving designs, and incorporated the technique of producing black-slipped and black-painted pottery developed in San Ildefonso Pueblo. This olla, or water jar, includes a carved depiction of what is likely Avanyu, a Tewa water serpent. Tafoya frequently depicted Avanyu on her pots. According to Tafoya’s daughter, Toni Roller – as quoted in the book Spoken Through Clay – “The water design is very important to put on pots to honor that serpent,” who “represents life.”