Modern Polychrome Female Storyteller c. 1980s by Josephine Arquero

This storyteller figurine features four chubby children, a traditional sign of health and abundance, listening intently to a central female figure tell stories. Two children are seated on her lap while two others crawl up her back. The primary figure features fine black line work detailed across her clothing, beautifully paired with prominent light-red pigment throughout. Her expressive face shows focused eyes, a downturned nose, and a small, open mouth captured mid-story. The figurine is signed Josephine Arquero Cochiti, NM on the bottom.

A Closer Look at Josephine Arquero:

Known for her polychrome storytellers, Josephine Arquero (1928-2020) was a renowned contemporary potter from Cochiti Pueblo (Ko'tyit) who shared with Helen Cordero the same father, Santiago Cordero, but had different mothers. Helen's mother was Santiago's first wife, Lorenza Cordero, while Josephine was the daughter of his second wife, Damacia Cordero, herself a matriarch and influential figure in Cochiti figurative ceramics.

While Helen Cordero gained national acclaim for reenergizing the Pueblo figurative tradition in 1964 by creating the first Storyteller figurine, Josephine Arquero developed her own distinct, elegant style within the same figurative ceramic tradition. Working alongside her mother Damacia and sisters (including Martha Arquero and Marie Laweka), Josephine became well known for crafting clean-lined storyteller figures, nacimientos (nativity scenes), animal effigies, and whimsical character studies such as tourists, priests, and cowboys using natural Cochiti clays and mineral pigments.

Condition: good condition

Provenance: this Modern Polychrome Female Storyteller by Josephine Arquero c. 1980s is from a client of Adobe Gallery.

Reference and Recommended Reading: The Pueblo Storyteller: Development of a Figurative Ceramic Tradition by Barbara A. Babcock, Guy and Doris Monthan

TAGS: Damacia Cordero. pottery, Martha Arquero, Marie Laweka, figurative pottery, traditional clothing, Josephine Arquero