Tiger Storyteller

Tiger Storyteller by Inez Ortiz (1060 - 2008), signed “Wapumana, Cochiti NM”, 4 ¼ x 6 x 3 ¼ inches. Inez, (Wapumana or Wild Rose) was a member of the notable Herrera family of pottery artists from Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico. She learned the traditional art of pottery making from her mother and her grandmother, and used traditional techniques to create her animal and human figures. This tiger may be based on characters described in Cochiti's oral history of visitors who stopped in at Cochiti Pueblo via the nearby railway station, including circus performers and their animals.