Polychrome Male Storyteller c. 1980s with Four Children by Dorothy Trujillo

Crafted with precision, muted earth tones, and quiet determination, Dorothy Trujillo's work highlights her broad artistic mastery across clay figurines, pottery, and sculpture. This polychrome figurine depicts a central storyteller or singer sharing information with four children. He is characterized by a wide open mouth, traditional chongo hair bun, upturned nose, and large eyes. Two young boys hold drums, while two girls perch atop his shoulders. Light-red pigments lend subtle depth to both the figures and their accessories. Additionally, a distinctive top indentation on the main figure's head, a signature Trujillo detail, evokes neatly parted hair. The symbols on the back of the male figure represent natural foliage and cloud motifs, tying in the natural world. This figurine is signed on the bottom D. Trujillo Cochiti, NM.

A Deeper Look at Dorothy Trujillo

Best known for her works in clay, Dorothy Trujillo (1932-1999) made Cochiti-style pottery, although she was born to a Laguna Pueblo (Kawaika) mother and a Jemez Pueblo (Walatowa) father. Amazingly, at the early age of 10, she was making pottery figurines. This is when she attended the San Diego Mission School and learned pottery making during summer vacations from her mother and grandmother. When Dorothy married Onofre Trujillo, she moved to Cochiti Pueblo (Ko'tyit) and earned permission to use their local clay source.

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.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Polychrome Male Storyteller c. 1980s with Four Children by Dorothy Trujillo is from a client of Adobe Gallery.

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

TAGS: Laguna, Jemez, Storyteller figurines, jewelry, Cochiti Pueblo, Damacia Cordero, Dorothy Loretto Trujillo