Marie Toya Jemez Pueblo Storyteller Figure with Four Children View Watchlist >
- Winning Bid: $60.50
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- High Bidder: cltharp
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Lot # E629
System ID # 28529235
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Marie Toya Jemez Pueblo Storyteller Figure with Four Children
A hand-built and hand-painted Jemez Pueblo storyteller figure by Marie Toya, signed on the underside "Marie Toya / Jemez." The seated matriarch sits with eyes closed and mouth open in song, her four children gathered close — three cradled in her arms, one perched atop her head. Each child is individually rendered with painted hair, headbands, and small attributes: one holds a painted pottery bowl, another a slice of watermelon, details that anchor the figure firmly in Pueblo daily life and storytelling tradition. Polychrome decoration in earthen red, black, and natural buff clay carries traditional Jemez geometric motifs across the mother's skirt and the rim of her hair.
The storyteller form was revived in 1964 by Cochiti potter Helen Cordero and quickly spread across the Pueblos, with Jemez emerging as a particularly strong center for the tradition. The figure honors the elder as keeper of oral history — songs, creation stories, and lessons passed from one generation to the next. Marie Toya is among the recognized Jemez potters working in this lineage, and her storytellers are sought for their expressive faces and carefully observed children.
CONDITION
Good. Minor chips to paint throughout consistent with handling. One child shows a chipped foot. Signature is clear and legible on the underside.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Overall: 6 7/8" H × 4 1/4" W × 4 1/2" D
- Maker: Marie Toya, Jemez Pueblo
- Signed: "Marie Toya / Jemez" on underside
- Children: 4
- Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included
