Isleta Pueblo Storyteller with 7 Children of a Female Hopi Maiden [SOLD]

Isleta Pueblo has never been known for highly decorative pottery.  Before the arrival in the late 1800s of the refugees from Laguna Pueblo, Isleta produced only pottery of natural color clay with a simple red band added around the rim.  When the Laguna faction arrived, they brought with them the decorative pottery of their pueblo. 

Isleta potter Stella Teller and her daughters have introduced a new style of decorative pottery at the pueblo.  Her basic slip of white clay, and her use of a blue-gray mixture highlighted with tan or beige coloring, has now been well accepted at what one expects from Isleta Pueblo.  The Teller family is the best known and most productive of all Isleta potters.

This storyteller is representative of a female Hopi unmarried maiden with the historically traditional hair whorls of a maiden.  The little girls in her lap also feature the whorls.  The female wears a white shawl over her shoulders, a traditional dress that is over one shoulder and under the other, and the white moccasin with leather leg wraps.  Two of the girls are holding the flat Owl Katsina dolls.  All of the females wear real turquoise hieshe necklaces.

Condition: this storyteller is new and in original condition

Provenance: from the artist

Recommended Reading:  The Pueblo Storyteller by Barbara Babcock