Taos Pueblo Male Storyteller Figurine with 6 Children [SOLD]

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Alma Loretto Concha, Taos Pueblo Potter

Alma Loretto Concha (1941 – present) is one of six Loretto sisters originally from Jemez Pueblo. Her sisters are Mary Toya, Fannie Loretto, Lupe Lucero, Edna Coriz and Dorothy Trujillo.  She began learning the techniques of making pottery as a child and has continued during her adult life.  Her first storyteller was made in 1969 after she married and moved to Taos Pueblo.

 

Her style of storyteller figurines and nacimientos may be classified as minimalist in that there are few decorations on the figures.  The natural orange clay used for the base structure is covered with cream clay paint for clothing and hair.  The faces are without eyes and sometimes without mouths—resulting in the most minimalist of features.  This is a style developed completely by Alma and not copied by others.

 

Alma has been known as Alma Loretto, Alma Concha, and now, Alma Maestas.  In 1979, she was a part of the landmark Albuquerque Museum exhibit "One Space: Three Visions."  Three years later, she was included in an article in National Geographic Magazine.

 Alma Concha (1941 – present) signature

Condition: structurally in excellent condition but there is some abrasion of the red clay on one foot of the adult and the feet of one child, but nothing serious. 

Provenance:  This storyteller was made around 1980 and purchased by a resident of Albuquerque from whose estate we just acquired it.

Recommended Reading: The Pueblo Storyteller: Development of a Figurative Ceramic Tradition by Barbara Babcock

 

Alma Loretto Concha, Taos Pueblo Potter
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