The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Plate with Bear Claw Design

Plate with Bear Claw Design

before 2003
(Santa Clara Pueblo, b. 1954)
Diameter: 5.4 x 29.5 cm (2 1/8 x 11 5/8 in.); Overall: 5.3 cm (2 1/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Black pottery has long been a hallmark of ceramics made in Santa Clara Pueblo. Equally distinctive is a bear claw design, which first appeared in the late 1800s. A bear is said to have led the people of Santa Clara to water during a drought in mythic times; thus, in some contexts, the claw design represents a prayer for rain.
  • {{cite web|title=Plate with Bear Claw Design|url=false|author=Nathan Youngblood|year=before 2003|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.346