When the book Nacimientos was first published in 1979, there were only 15 pueblo potters included, of which there were only five from Cochiti Pueblo. Mary Martin was not in the group of five listed which indicates that she was not making nacimientos in 1979.  According to research by Guy and Doris Monthan, when planning to write a book on Native nacimientos, "the first Indian-made Nativities appeared in the late 1950s.  Into the early 1960s, the craft was engaged in by only three or four artisans on an occasional basis.  It accelerated in the late 1960s and swelled to the proportions of a movement in the late 1970s." 

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Cochiti Pueblo potter Louis Naranjo was the creator of the bear storyteller figurine.  He said he was hunting one day and saw a mother bear watching her two cubs playing nearby.  That gave him the idea for the figurines. 

This black bear female is spread out on the ground with her front legs up under her chin.  Her cub, resting on her back, has its legs up under its chin too.

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Guadalupe Ortiz was the husband of Seferina and the father of Virgil and his siblings.  He passed away in 2015. He had been an active potter since only 1998 so there is not a large quantity of his pottery available.  His interest was in making frogs and other pottery figurines and occasionally bowls and jars.  He also was a maker of drums, rattles and wood carvings.  He was an award winner at the 1998 Santa Fe Indian Market and at the New Mexico State Fair the same year.

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This charming Mother Turtle figurine was created by Cochiti potter Buffy Cordero, granddaughter of the famed Helen Cordero.  Helen Cordero was the creator of the Mother Turtle figurine which this represents.  She said that there was a legend at Cochiti Pueblo that refers to a turtle rescuing the children in time of peril or flood and transporting them to safety.

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Rita Lewis, the daughter of famous potter Ascencion Banada, married Ivan Lewis, son of famous potter Lucy Lewis. Together they started making pottery bowls and animal figurines around 1971, and storyteller figurines around 1973.

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It is well known that Helen Cordero made what has now been named the Storyteller figurine in 1964.  Her definition of a storyteller was that it was in honor of her grandfather, a well-known storyteller at Cochiti Pueblo, so it was always a male figurine in Helen's eyes.

Before Helen Cordero's first storyteller, female figurines were made by potters at Cochiti and they have been named Singing Mothers.  In the book The Pueblo Storyteller by Barbara Babcock, there is a Singing Mother figurine which Babcock says pre-dates 1930.  She further states that "The shape of her head and ears and her 'coffee bean' eyes are remarkably similar to figures made by Felipa Trujillo in the 1960s and 1970s."  If this is indeed one made by Felipa Trujillo before 1930, she must be one of the earliest Cochiti potters to do so.

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This seated male storyteller holds two young boys on his lap.  The Cochti Pueblo potter is Carol M. Pecos but I have not yet determined who she is and what family she is from.  She obviously is an accomplished potter as this figurine was beautifully constructed and painted. The adult's hair is sculpted around his face and his eyes are inset.  It is quite a stunning figurine.

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Cochiti Pueblo potter Juanita Inez Ortiz learned pottery making from her mother, Seferina, and her grandmother, Laurencita Herrera. It is traditional for pueblo potters to teach their children the art of pottery making starting at an early age. Inez's siblings, all of whom are potters, are Virgil, Joyce, and Janice. Inez was the mother of Lisa Holt. Unlike her brother, Virgil, Inez remained with traditional designs and shapes, much like her mother.

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The Salakomana is the female version and the Salakotaka is the male version of the Hopi Pueblo pair of katsinas. The Salakomana is distinguishable by her white face and white moccasins. The two always appear as a pair. The basic intent of the Salako Ceremony is, of course, to bring the clouds from which will come the rain.

This carving is from cottonwood root and is a single-piece carving except for the addition of the three-piece tablita and the piece of wood on the forehead from which feathers protrude. Multi-colored embroidery thread falls from a bundle of feathers on the back of the mask. The feathers on the front and around the hem are carved into the wood and highlighted with black paint. The painted design on the neck and hem of the manta reproduce the embroidered design on a woman's manta.

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The Hopi Salako Ceremony is held infrequently and is therefore one of the least known of the Hopi Pueblo ceremonies. According to Barton Wright, the last known one on Third Mesa was held in 1912, and the last one on Second Mesa was held in 1972. I attended the ceremony at the village of Shungopavi on Second Mesa around 1985, but I do not recall the exact year. It was held following another ceremony and I was about ready to leave the plaza when this ceremony started. It was a most impressive ceremony.

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   Joe Hilario Herrera was born at Cochiti Pueblo, the son of Tonita Peña, who was originally from San Ildefonso, but moved to Cochiti after the death of her mother.  She was raised by an aunt and uncle.  Although she lived at Cochiti all of her adult life, she is still known as a San Ildefonso artist.  Her son, Joe, however is recognized as a Cochiti Pueblo artist.  Joe grew up watching his famous mother paint on an almost daily basis.  His early art education was home schooled.

Herrera attended the Santa Fe Indian School and continued on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts in Education, both from the University of New Mexico.  He continued his education in Puerto Rico, studying briefly under Raymond Jonson.

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Although the Koyemshi (Mudheads) are childlike, or witless in their behavior, they are regarded as the "sages of the ancients, oracles who speak with the voices of idiots mixing wisdom and nonsense in every utterance. They are considered the fathers of the Zuni people and no other group is more sacrosanct or dangerous than the Koyemshi.  To deny them anything, even in one's heart or mind, is to court disaster."  They are major participants in the Zuni Shalako ceremony and are the first to appear for the event, arriving eight days before the ceremony. Wright, 1985  

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For those who like small vessels, this is a must! This is one of the nicest small San Juan Pueblo polished black ollas on the market. Its shape is faithfully reproduced from a large jar down to this size, a size frequently called a Child's Water Jar.   It is the traditional San Juan style with a polished black upper body and polished gray underbody, which has been made for centuries. In these jars, the red slip is wiped over the upper 2/3rd of the vessel body and the lower 1/3rd left without slip.  Both upper and lower portions are then stone polished.  When reduction fired, the red changes to black and the tan underbody changes to gray.  A very fine fluted or wavy rim serves as the vessel's only deviation from a plain surface.  The interior of the neck is matte finish.  It probably dates to circa 1900-1930 period. 

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The Hopi live in a desert and rely solely on rain for their crops and animals.  It is to the Katsinas that the Hopi plea for rain.  In exchange for rain from the Katsinas, the Hopi present them with pahos (prayer feathers).  They do not ask for anything from the katsinas without giving something in return.

Although the Hemis Katsina may appear in any Katsina dance, they are best known for their participation in the Niman Ceremony, a ceremony where a large number of Hemis and Hemismana are the only katsinas represented.  The Hemis Katsina is most frequently selected for the Niman because he is a beautiful impersonation and his songs are popular with the Hopi.

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Several of the early San Ildefonso Pueblo artists often painted wildlife and barnyard animals. Skunks seem to have been a favorite. It is a matter of conjecture as to whether Julian Martinez or Awa Tsireh is responsible for the advent of the skunk in Pueblo painting, but Julian used this highly decorative animal most delightfully in many compositions, thereby establishing it as a fully respectable subject in Pueblo art. The mythological Avanyu (water serpent) is another image favored by San Ildefonso and Santa Clara artists.  Julian used it many times on black pottery.

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Lu Ann Tafoya, a daughter of Margaret Tafoya, certainly inherited the talent to produce beautifully sculpted jars with outrageously burnished surfaces. She has made jars almost three feet tall, a feat not easily accomplished.  This globular-shaped jar has a beautiful deep red slip that was burnished to a high luster.  There are four bear paw designs around the circumference.

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Santo Domingo artisans are adept at working with materials such as shell, turquoise, jet and others in fashioning jewelry whereas Navajo artisans work more with silver.  This pair of earrings consists predominately of squares of beautiful blue turquoise mounted in mosaic style on a flat shell backing.  The earrings are equipped for pierced ears.

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These Southwest Indian Jewelry earrings from Santo Domingo are comprised of rectangular cut stones arranged in a herringbone pattern over shell backing.  They are equipped for pierced ears.  There is no artist name.  The arrangement of the colors of the stones provides for a beautiful palette. 

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This exquisite mid-20th century Navajo-made bracelet has seven beautiful ocean-blue turquoise cabochons, each mounted in silver bezels on top of the three-wire shank.  The outer two bars of the shank are triangular shaped silver and the middle one is twisted wire rope.  Each bezel is wrapped in twisted wire rope and each cab is separated by a pair of silver drops.  Each end of the bracelet is reinforced with a silver plate.

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It is not unusual for pueblo potters to forego signing their work, especially some of the older women, as it is not an accepted practice to seek fame above others.  Many older potters adhere to this philosophy.  Whether that is the reason we see unsigned contemporary pottery is not really known but perhaps it carries some weight. 

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