Mary Lewis Cochiti Pueblo Storyteller Figurine with Seven Kids

This is a traditional Cochiti Pueblo female storyteller figurine, adorned with seven children, featuring traditional polychrome painting and signature details. The seven children are placed throughout the front and sides of the adult.

The adult figure, in classic storyteller fashion, has her mouth open signifying the transmission of oral traditions and stories to the listening children. The back of the head features a sculpted hair bun (chonga) decorated with painted red accent lines of the traditional yarn ties.

She is wearing a traditional squash blossom necklace with blossoms encircling her neck. Her manta is decorated with terraced scallop/wave designs. On the back is the design of a traditional "ribbon shirt".  Her extended legs are accented with dark bandings and geometric stepped-triangle motifs representing traditional Pueblo footwear.

The base is hand-signed in pencil: M. Lewis Cochiti

Mary Lewis was the wife of Elmer Lewis and a daughter-in-law of Ivan and Rita Lewis. She has been an active potter since the 1980s. Her figurines routinely feature classic Cochiti stylistic traits — characteristic gray-buff Cochiti slip, wild-spinach black pigment, red oxide accents, and Cochiti clay body. Potters within the extended Lewis family branch connected to Cochiti frequently created figures using these traditional Cochiti methods. This storyteller resembles those of Rita Lewis so, perhaps, she was an influence on the work of her daughter-in-law.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Mary Lewis Cochiti Pueblo Storyteller Figurine with Seven Kids is from the collection of a client from California

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

TAGS: Cochiti Pueblo, Pueblo Pottery, Ivan and Rita Lewis, Mary Lewis, Cochiti Pueblo