Blackware Pottery Horse Single Bookend

This blackware pottery horse was created by Maria I. Naranjo of Santa Clara Pueblo. It is a single bookend, with the horse standing vertically atop a thick horizontal base. The figure was made with skill and style, and the piece is quite appealing.

Naranjo stone polished the horse and the base and used a matte finish for the back and the area beneath the horse's legs. Her work with the polishing is of high quality, resulting in a unique piece of blackware that is both beautiful and functional.

The back of the bookend is signed Margarita Naranjo, Sta. Clara Pueblo.

Maria I. Naranjo (1924-2006) was a Santa Clara Pueblo potter. The name Margarita Naranjo from Santa Clara Pueblo New Mexico is not a potter that's recorded in the standard published reference books, except for one which does list a potter by that name. It appears that she was an older potter whom no one at the pueblo recalls. Several contemporary potters at Santa Clara Pueblo have stated that Margarita was Maria I. Naranjo—Margarita was an earlier name she used. Maria created excellent blackware in several inventive forms. She is believed to be the first Santa Clara potter to make nacimientos, or nativity scenes.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Blackware Pottery Horse Single Bookend is from a private collection

Recommended Reading: Collections of Southwestern Pottery: Candlesticks to Canteens, Frogs to Figurines by Allan Hayes, et al.

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Santa Clara Pueblo, Pottery Figurines, Maria I. Naranjo