Cochiti Pueblo Traditional Storyteller Figurine with 12 Children [SOLD]

Dorothy Trujillo, who passed away in 1999, was an outstanding potter. She was originally from Jemez Pueblo, but moved to Cochiti following her marriage to Onofre Trujillo, and obtained permission to make pottery using Cochiti clay.

Dorothy was one of the early potters to make storyteller figurines.  She was from a family of outstanding potters. Her sisters, Mary E. Toya (b.1934), Marie Edna Coriz (b.1946), Alma Loretto Concha Maestas (b.1941), Fannie Loretto Wall (b.1953), and Lenora Lupe Lucero (b.1943), are famous potters as well.  Interestingly, her sisters also married out of their native pueblo and moved to the pueblo of their spouses.

In true Cochiti Pueblo tradition, Dorothy made her figurine with eyes closed and mouth open. The closed eyes represent “thought” and the open mouth represents “storytelling.” The adult figurine is beautifully painted with a design on the back and wearing a squash blossom necklace.  There are twelve children, four on the right side, four on the left side and four on the legs. The children have a variety of items in their hands—drum, watermelon, balls, and other shapes.

Condition: this Cochiti Pueblo Traditional Storyteller Figurine with 12 Children is in very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a client from Albuquerque

Recommended Reading: The Pueblo Storyteller: Development of a Figurative Ceramic Tradition by Barbara Babcock, Ph.D.