George Cordero Pottery “Mother Turtle” Figure with Five Children

George Cordero was the son of celebrated potter Helen Cordero, and his pottery figurines closely resemble hers. This turtle was hand-coiled from local Pueblo clay, and decorated with traditional natural mineral and bee-weed plant pigments.  The children feature traditional painted garments (polka dots, zigzags, and crosses) with soft expression faces typical of Cochiti figurative pieces.

Four of the boys ride on the turtle's back comfortably on a blanket. The fifth one found a spot on the back of the shell. The turtle has her head turned surveying her travels. 

"Mother Turtle" depicts a Cochiti legend of oral storytelling and protective origin. In Pueblo tradition, the turtle represents endurance, protection, mother earth, and longevity. The motif of carrying children on its shell references the oral history where Mother Turtle provides safe passage during environmental hardship or flood.

While Helen Cordero invigorated Cochiti figurative pottery in 1964 with the classic human Storyteller, figures adapted onto animal forms — specifically turtles and bears — became a beloved evolution in Pueblo clay art.

The base retains a clean original painted signature: George Cordero Cochiti, NEW MEXICO.

Condition: Overall good structural integrity with crisp slip pigment. The small chip on the front webbed flipper exposes the bare, un-painted light-tan native clay beneath, typical of minor edge impact on traditional pit-fired pottery.

Provenance: this George Cordero Pottery "Mother Turtle" Figure with Five Children is from the collection of a client from California

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

TAGS: Storyteller figurine, pottery, Cochiti Pueblo, Antonita "Toni" Suina, Buffy Cordero, Tim Cordero, Evon Trujillo, Helen Cordero, George Cordero