Cochiti Pueblo Mermaid Figurine [SOLD]

This female figurine appears to us to be a mermaid, judging by the feet which look to be flippers. She is absolutely charming and voluptuous with lips that would do credit to any lipstick commercial. Her blouse laces up in the back as a corset and strains to hold her in. Her earrings are fashioned from pottery.

Virgil has an artistic eye unlike any other pueblo artist I know. He must thoroughly enjoy fashioning figurines and I can imagine him with a smile as he thinks of how to dress them and how to design the decorations. He must achieve a feeling of pleasure on completing one. If he enjoys his creations as much as collectors do, then he must be a happy artist.

He started making pottery at age 6 and still occasionally finds time to do more, but his life of producing designer clothing, videos, photographs, and making jewelry leave very little time to pursue his earlier career of pottery production.

Virgil’s mother, Seferina Ortiz, encouraged her son to make traditional Cochiti pueblo pottery, but he chose to go more modern. He has produced figurines ranging from scantily-clad females, males with nipple rings, two-headed people, females dressed in long leather dresses, etc. At the same time, he has formed traditional shaped jars, but his decorations have deviated from the traditional.

As collectors, we are fortunate that Virgil has such a fertile mind and has chosen to express his talent by making pottery.

The figurine is signed by the artist and dated 2002.

Condition Report: It appears that the flippers have been broken off the figurine and professionally restored. It is nearly impossible to detect the break because of the black paint but we were able to detect it with UV examination.