Jemez Pueblo Pottery Turtle By Juanita Fragua

Late 20th Century

1.5" H x 4.625" L x 3.125" W

Hand Coiled Clay Turtle with a Painted Dark Brown and Deep Terracotta Colored Corn and Geometric Motif Design on the Shell

In Very Good Condition

Juanita Fragua (1935–2023) was a highly respected Jemez Pueblo (Walatowa) potter and matriarch of a prominent artistic family. She belonged to the Corn Clan and played a key role in the revival of traditional Jemez pottery-making starting in the mid-20th century. 

She learned the art from her mother around age 13 (circa 1948), later refining her skills while living in places like St. Louis and San Francisco before returning to the pueblo in the early 1970s. She used traditional methods involving natural clays, slips, and a multi-step process (she described it as 19 steps), creating stone-polished redware and tanware. Her work includes melon jars (often with ribbed or swirl designs), wedding vases, jars with sgraffito or polychrome elements, cornmeal bowls, and figurative pieces. Common motifs include corn stalks (reflecting her clan), geometric designs, lightning bolts, feathers, and animals.