Cochiti Pueblo Bear Storyteller with Four Cubs [R]

Louis (1932-1997) and Virginia Naranjo (b.1932) worked together for many years forming figurative pottery.  They made storyteller figurines, large human figures, animals, and other forms of pottery.  Louis created the bear storyteller figurine sometime in the 1970s after having seen a bear family, and the cubs were playing around.

After Louis passed away in 1997, Virginia continued making figurines and signed them only with her name.  This bear is one of Virginia’s without Louis’s assistance.  There are two cubs on the back of the adult, being secured with a blanket wrap.  The other two rest peacefully on the adult’s legs.

Condition: original condition

Provenance: from the collection of a gentleman from Santa Fe who is in the process of moving to Florida.

Recommended Reading:  There is an excellent article on Louis and Virginia Naranjo in Indians of New Mexico, edited by Richard C. Sandoval and Ree Sheck. Published by New Mexico Magazine, Santa Fe, 1990. ISBN 0-937206-16-4. It may be available from the publisher (New Mexico Magazine).

Photo of Louis and Virginia Naranjo courtesy of Gregory Schaaf.
Refereence: Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf.