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Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2020 School for Advanced Research.

Figure, storyteller

Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2020 School for Advanced Research.

Figure, storyteller

Date: 2000
Artist or Maker: Stella Teller (b. 1929)
Dimensions:
Dimensions: 21.6 × 12.1 × 16.5 cm (8 1/2 × 4 3/4 × 6 1/2 in.)
Weight: 1.4 kg (3 lb.)
Medium: clay | paints | turquoise
Credit Line: Commissioned by the Indian Arts Research Center for the Clay Beings Convocation, October 2000.
Object Number: SAR.2000-5-1
Not on view
DescriptionSeated male storyteller with ten boys and three girls on his shoulders, arms, and legs. All figures have open mouths. The man and five of the boys wear gray headbands; most decorated with pale orange motifs, as well as pink-collared shirts. The man's shirt has a zig-zag design in brown, pink, and gray running vertically down the placket, with four gray buttons. His tan sash, decorated and fringed, hangs on his right hip. He wears tan moccasins as well as a beaded turquoise necklace. Four of the boys are playing two drums in his lap. The three girls have their hair coiled in squash blossom buns over their ears and are wearing gray mantas, two with sashes and turquoise bead necklaces.
Tribal Collection Review RemarksAccording to the participants in the Isleta collection review visit May 2 3, 2022 (Events Record “Collection Review: Isleta Collection Review 2"): The artist, Stella Teller, stated that the storyteller is a grandfather or uncle. It was built with natural clays and materials using the coil method. The figures' bodies are hollow to prevent them from exploding during the firing. The children figurines and drum were made separately and adhered to the main body. The heishi turquoise is from San Felipe Pueblo and Santo Domingo Pueblo (Kewa).
In Collection(s)
The Indian Arts Research Center, in collaboration with Native American community scholars, strives to present accurate collections records. Records may be updated as new information becomes available and is reviewed with the Native American community having cultural affinity to particular items. Please write to iarc@sarsf.org if you have questions or concerns related to the documentation.