Damacia Cordero

Damacia Cordero was among the earliest of the potters at Cochiti Pueblo to make Storyteller and Singing Mother figurines. When the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe mounted its “What Is Folk Art?" exhibit in 1973, Storytellers were being made by only seven Cochiti potters—Helen Cordero, Felipa Trujillo, Aurelia Suina, Juanita Arquero, Frances Suina, Seferina Ortiz, and Damacia Cordero.

When Adobe Gallery exhibited its first “Storyteller" show in 1980, only Rita Lewis, Mary Martin, Virginia Naranjo, Ada Suina, and Dorothy Trujillo were added to the list of Cochiti potters by then. By the mid-1980s, no less than fifty-five Cochiti potters were making figurines.

“Damacia Cordero had been making human and animal figures for over fifty years when she turned to storytellers in the 1970s and 1980s. Not surprisingly, her figures have a much older look about them and, as a consequence of her firing technique, are much grayer in color than most Cochiti figures.

“Damacia began making pottery around 1920 and was making Singing Mother figures in the 1950s. Her Storytellers, which are quite distinctive, give the impression of having evolved from a much older figurative tradition. They are easily recognized by their straight, elongated torsos; long, arched noses that extend from the hairline; and protruding ears, exaggerated to the point of resembling fins or wings. Modeling of the adult’s arms and of the two babies’ bodies is minimal, and that characteristic, too, sets her figures apart.”
—Babcock 1986.

Damacia’s animal figures are as recognizable as her storytellers. She seemed to enjoy making non-New Mexico animalitos such as kangaroos, rhinos, leopards, etc. She also made native New Mexico animals too.

We are excited to have acquired this collection of eight pieces of pottery made by Damacia Cordero in the 1970s. There are two storytellers and six animals.

Reference and Recommended Reading: The Pueblo Storyteller, (click here to view details of book) by Barbara Babcock, et al. (Available from Adobe Gallery)