RITA LEWIS Cochiti Pueblo Pottery Storyteller Figurine with Three Children [SOLD]

Storyteller figurines by Rita Lewis are sought after by collectors because of their fine detail. This charming storyteller is wearing traditional Cochiti Pueblo style clothing along with a squash blossom necklace and side buttoned moccasins which the artist painted with precision. The creamy ivory slip was applied in an even manner and black and red paint were carefully rendered to depict the faces as well as the details of the clothing. As she tells her story, the storyteller is holding two children in front and one climbs on her back. It is a charming piece. It is signed on the underside Rita Lewis.

Rita Lewis (1920-1991), the daughter of the famous Cochiti potter, Ascencion Banada, married Ivan Lewis (1919-2001), son of the famous Acoma potter, Lucy Lewis. Together they started making bowls and animal figurines around 1971, and storyteller figurines around 1973.

When we organized our first storyteller exhibit at Adobe Gallery in Albuquerque in 1979, there were only five potters making these figurines—Helen Cordero, Dorothy Trujillo, Mary Frances Herrera, Seferina Ortiz, and Rita Lewis. Sadly, today, all these potters are deceased.

Condition: this Cochiti Pueblo Pottery Storyteller Figurine with Three Children by Rita Lewis is in excellent condition.

Provenance: from the collection of a family from Illinois who purchased it from The Rainbow Man in Santa Fe  in 1992.

Recommended Reading: The Pueblo Storyteller: Development of a Figurative Ceramic Tradition by Barbara Babcock

Relative Links: Helen Cordero, Dorothy Trujillo, Mary Frances Herrera, Seferina Ortiz, Rita Lewis, storyteller, Lucy Lewis, Ivan Lewis, Cochiti Pueblo