Sara Fina Tafoya
Sara Fina Gutiérrez Tafoya (1863–1949) (sometimes spelled Serefina Tafoya and Serafina Tafoya) was a Tewa matriarch potter from Kha'po Owingeh (in Tewa: [xɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè]), New Mexico. Tafoya is known for her minimally-adorned blackware and black-on-black ware, frequently marked with the imprint of a bear claw motif. She has been referred to as "undoubtedly the outstanding Tewa potter of her time." The Tafoya family lineage of Puebloan potters "goes as far back as records exist." Tafoya's work consisted primarily of large-scale vessels that were marked with concave and convex impressions and carved designs.
Also recorded as Sara Fina Gutiérrez Tafoya · Autumn Leaf
Sara Fina Tafoya
From the book Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham. The photograph is of Sara Fina Tafoya (1863–1949) in about 1900. The photograph is out of copyright, the subject is deceased. · Public domain
- Name
- Sara Fina Gutiérrez Tafoya
- Died
- 1949
- Place of death
- New Mexico, US
- Spouse
- José Geronimo Tafoya, "White Flower"
- Born
- 1863.
- Occupation
- ceramicist and artist.
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Documentary summary
Sara Fina Gutiérrez Tafoya (1863–1949) (sometimes spelled Serefina Tafoya and Serafina Tafoya) was a Tewa matriarch potter from Kha'po Owingeh (in Tewa: [xɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè]), New Mexico. Tafoya is known for her minimally-adorned blackware and black-on-black ware, frequently marked with the imprint of a bear claw motif. She has been referred to as "undoubtedly the outstanding Tewa potter of her time." The Tafoya family lineage of Puebloan potters "goes as far back as records exist." Tafoya's work consisted primarily of large-scale vessels that were marked with concave and convex impressions and carved designs.
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Sara Fina Tafoya worked as artist and ceramicist. Sara Fina Tafoya was born in 1863. Sara Fina Tafoya died in 1949.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sara Fina Gutiérrez Tafoya • Native Name — Autumn Leaf • Died — 1949 • Place of death — New Mexico, US • Spouse — José Geronimo Tafoya, "White Flower" • Mother — Filomena Cajete Gutiérrez
Personal life
Personal life
Tafoya married Geronimo Tafoya with whom she had eight children. Many of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and extended family became well-known potters including Margaret Tafoya, LuAnn Tafoya, Tammy Garcia, Nathan Youngblood and others.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Wedding vase by Sara Fina Tafoya • Illustration — Sara Fina Tafoya, Water Jar, c.1890-1900 • Illustration — Sara Fina Tafoya firing blackware pottery at Santa Clara Pueblo, c. 1900 • Illustration — Geronimo and Sara Fina Tafoya c. 1900
Tewa artist, Sara Fina Gutierrez Tafoya, native name "Autumn Leaf" pit-firing blackware pottery at Santa Clara Pueblo (Kha'po Owingeh), Northern New Mexico around 1900. Collection of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
Photographed from the book, "Margaret Tafoya: A Tewa Potter's Heritage and Legacy", page 48, FIg. 2.7. Caption: states "photographer unknown, probably taken around the turn of the century." Identified
Water jar with three rainbow bands by Serefina Gutierrez Tafoya, Water Jar, c.1890-1900. Rainbow bands were sometimes built into clay water jars as a "prayer to protect the water and arrest evaporation." (Attribution: Nathan Youngblood, Santa Clara Pueblo, great-grandson of Serefina Tafoya; label copy from Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.)
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Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1863
Sara Fina Tafoya born.
1949
Sara Fina Tafoya died.
Collections
Her work is included in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Denver Art Museum, the Mount Hoyoke College Art Museum, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, among other private and public collections.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Blair, Mary Ellen. Margaret Tafoya: A Tewa Potter's Heritage and Legacy. Schiffer Publishing. 1986. 0-88740-080-9.
- 2.Sara Fina Tafoya. Art Institute of Chicago. 1863.
- 3.McLister, Iris. Immortal coils: 'Spoken Through Clay' celebrates Native pottery. Pasatiempo. Santa Fe New Mexican. 18 August 2017.
- 4.Martin, Douglas. Margaret Tafoya, 96, Pueblo Potter Whose Work Found a Global Audience. The New York Times. B.6. 5 March 2001.
- 5.National Heritage Fellowships - Margaret Tafoya. National Endowment for the Arts.
- 6.Kin and Kiln: Tafoya Black-on-Black Ware. Bowers Museum. 5 November 2020.
- 7.King, Charles S. Signed, 'Serafina': The Signed Pottery of SaraFina Tafoya. King Galleries. 10 August 2019.
- 8.Jar, about 1900 - Artist: Sara Fina Tafoya. Denver Art Museum.
- 9.Double Shoulder Jar. Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. 14 August 2015.
- 10.Serafina Tafoya. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
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Further particulars
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Storage Jar, dated c.
1900, earthenware (blackware) and slip
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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