Cochiti Pueblo Storyteller Pottery By Dorothy Trujillo

ca. 1980s

6.5″ H x 6″ L x 6″ W

Hand Coiled with 10 Children Sitting on the Adult Holding a Ball, Melons and a Drum

In Very Good Condition

Dorothy Trujillo (19321999) was a renowned Native American potter known for her Cochiti Pueblo-style storyteller figurines. Born to a Laguna Pueblo mother (Carrie Reid) and a Jemez Pueblo father, she married into Cochiti Pueblo (marrying Onofre Trujillo or associated with the community) and adopted Cochiti clay sources and stylistic traditions after receiving permission. She began making pottery and figures at a remarkably young agearound 10 years oldlearning from her mother and grandmother, and was active from the 1950s through the 1990s.

She was one of the early artists to revive and popularize the storyteller pottery tradition in the mid-20th century. These iconic figurines typically depict a seated adult figure (often a grandfather or grandmother, with eyes closed in “thought” and mouth open as if singing or telling stories) covered in numerous small “children” (or sometimes animals like dogs, drums, balls, or other playful elements). The children clamber over the adult, symbolizing the oral tradition of passing stories and knowledge to the next generation. Dorothy’s works are polychrome (multi-colored with natural slips and paints) and often feature detailed clothing, jewelry (like squash blossom necklaces), and joyful, expressive scenes.