Isabel Medina Toribio, Zia Pueblo Potter
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Isabel Medina Toribio (c. 1882-1940) Aitiyé
Isabel Medina Toribio (Zia Pueblo name: Aitiyé) was a highly important Zia Pueblo potter who was actively creating masterful polychrome jars throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
A key marker of her distinctive work is the frequent use of interlocking spirals around the neck of her vessels, a design that defines her aesthetic. Her finely crafted pieces are often sought after for their classic Zia form and execution.
Isabel's artistic lineage is deeply rooted in the Pueblo. She was the daughter of Jesus (or Juan de Dios) Medina and Isadora Lobato Medina. Around 1904, she married Alejandro Toribio, the eldest son of the well-known potter Rosalia Medina Toribio. It is believed that Isabel learned her exceptional potting skills from either her mother, Isidora Lobato Medina, or her mother-in-law, Rosalia Medina Toribio, thereby linking her work directly to a central family tradition of Zia artistry.
The couple had one child, Maria (or Marina) Gothlota. Isabel Medina Toribio's work represents a significant period in the evolution of Zia pottery, bridging the historic and early modern eras.
Photo Source: by Edward S. Curtis, 1925
Reference: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Francis H. Harlow and Dwight P. Lanmon