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Seferina Ortiz (1931-2007) Pueblo, Cochiti Applique Figural Storyteller Sculpture

Sold for $300 at Sarasota Estate Auction on Jun 14, 2026.

Seferina Ortiz (1931-2007) Pueblo, Cochiti Applique Figural Storyteller Sculpture auction lot image

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Lot description

Seferina Ortiz (1931-2007) Pueblo, Cochiti Applique Figural Storyteller Sculpture. A large seated figure with 4 children and 1 grandchild holding onto him. Signed on the underside. Size: 6 x 9 x 10 in. Seferina Ortiz was born on the Cochiti Pueblo in 1931, and learned to make pottery from her mother, Laurencita Herrera, before developing an innovative applique method of her own by adding raised figures to her pots and canteens. She is one of the most revered figures in Cochiti pottery-making, creating both storyteller figures and traditional vessels and becoming the matriarch of a family of innovative potters including Virgil Ortiz, Janice Ortiz, and Lisa Holt. Seferina won numerous awards for her pottery at events such as Santa Fe Indian Market, and her pieces are now held at numerous public and private collections, including in the Denver Art Museum and Peabody Museum of Harvard University. A key figure in the 1970s revival of figurative pottery and animal figurines, she passed away in 2007, with her pieces now considered highly collectible.

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