Laurencita Herrera Storyteller with Five Children

This piece is a classic, mid-to-late 20th-century Cochiti Pueblo clay storyteller figure created by the celebrated potter Laurencita Herrera (1912-1984). It was hand-built using local Cochiti clay, decorated with traditional wild spinach (bee plant) black paint and natural red/buff slips, and fired outdoors..

The main figure depicts an adult male with an open mouth — symbolizing the continuation of the oral storytelling tradition — and a tied chonga bun at the back of the head. He wears a traditional painted shirt complete with a concho belt detail.

The five children are in various active poses, including one sitting on his left arm holding a small white dog, two sitting at his feet, one on his right leg and holding a clay form, and the last one clinging to his right shoulder/back.

The underside shows the pencil signature Laurencita Herrera in script on the red slip base.

Laurencita Herrera was a highly prominent Cochiti Pueblo artist, recognized as one of the earlier generations of traditional Pueblo potters to adopt and refine the Storyteller motif popularized by Helen Cordero in the 1960s. She was the mother of several acclaimed potters, including Seferina Ortiz, helping establish a major artistic lineage in Cochiti figurative pottery.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Laurencita Herrera Storyteller 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: Cochiti Pueblo, pottery, Seferina Ortiz, Mary Frances Herrera, Inez Ortiz, European American, textiles, jewelry, furniture, Helen Corder, Aurelia Suina, Ada Suina, Teresita Romero, Seferina Ortiz, Stephanita Herrera, Juanita Arquero, storyteller figurines, Laurencita R. Herrera