Beautiful Estate Fresh old Storyteller from a long time collector of Native American Pottery. This One of a Kind piece is signed and made by the Famous Acoma & Chimayo Pueblo Artisan Teresita Ortiz. Her Storytellers are amazing! This Storyteller is about 5.25" tall and has 7 kids including one baby in a papoose. A ONE of a KIND pieces! This one is marked in 1996 and was made especially for Vince and Judith.
The Storyteller figure represents Indian mothers, fathers, and grandparents telling stories to their children in the interest of keeping and preserving their cultural traditions and history. Teresita Ortez, well known for her art. Please note: The artist attached the children with very slight amount of adhesive, the one on her right shoulder is loose, and appears to have some damage to the hands. Please see seventh and last photo.
OVERVIEW
Antique item
This handsome Native American pot, hand built of clay high in mica content, dates to the Late Historic Period, 1880 to 1940. Micaceous clay pots like this one are the only pueblo pottery that can be placed on a stove or fire for cooking. While micaceous clay pottery was made at both Taos and Picuris pueblos in New Mexico, this traditional piece with its metallic luster was made by a member of the Tiwa tribe at Picuris, evidenced by its thin walls and rim. Newer micaceous pottery is thicker and has a brighter red color, achieved by controlling the amount of oxygen in the fire,
On this round pot the decoration consists of six groups of four raised beads each, evenly spaced an inch or so beneath the rim. The blackened areas, known as fire clouds, caused by firing it in the flames, contribute another form of decoration. This piece was made for cooking, not for sale to tourists, so old examples of this type are scarce due to attrition.
Standing 5 inches tall, the pot has a slightly irregularly-shaped mouth about 5 inches across and a round bottom 6 inches across. The only damage we could find is a 1/2 inch wide chip on the rim and a tiny hairline attached to a small chip, also on that vulnerable, thin rim, both shown in our photos. It weighs 1 1/2 pounds and is in otherwise excellent condition, a scarce pueblo antique that's wonderful to own and display.
Note: While this pot glitters with mica on all surfaces, that is difficult to photograph; you can see it best in the photo of the interior of the piece.
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