Dora Tse Pe

San Ildefonso Pueblo

Dora Tse-Pe
Dora Tse-Pe

Dora Gachupin was born into Zia Pueblo in 1939. Candelaria Gachupin, her mother, taught Dora the basics of traditional Zia pottery production but then Dora married Johnny "Tse-Pe" Gonzales of San Ildefonso Pueblo and moved to his home there. Her new mother-in-law, Rose Gonzales, taught Dora how to make San Ildefonso red and black ware. Rose also taught Dora to polish as Zia potters almost never polish, preferring to use a colored slip on their pottery instead.

Rose Gonzales was born in San Juan Pueblo and moved to San Ildefonso after she married robert Gonzales. Rose brought the San Juan methods of pottery making with her and claimed to have taught the Santa Clara and San Ildefonso potters to carve their pottery. Dora worked with Rose for more than ten years, then went out on her own. She says she was inspired by Maria Martinez' son Popovi Da and her grandson Tony Da. Rose also had great influence over Dora's creations.

The first prize Dora ever earned was a blue ribbon at the 1969 New Mexico State Fair for a plain black pot she had made with Rose. In 1988 and 1991 she earned the prestigious Best in Traditional Pottery Award at the Santa Fe Indian Market.

Dora and Tse-Pe did a lot of work over the years experimenting with different clays, forms, textures and designs. As much as Dora always insisted she's a traditional potter, she's also always pushing the envelope of what can be done using traditional methods in new ways. A few years ago the Southwest Association of Indian Arts awarded her the title of "Master of Indian Market".

Dora often signs her pieces "Dora of San Ildefonso".


Fire cloud and inlaid turquoise on a brown jar
Brown jar with fire cloud and inlaid turquoise
3 in H by 2.5 in Dia
Sienna spot, sgraffito bear design and inlaid coral and turquoise on a black jar
Black jar with sienna spot, sgraffito bear design and inlaid coral and turquoise
3 in H by 3.5 in Dia
Avanyu design carved into a polished black jar with brown rim and inlaid turquoise
Polished black jar with brown rim, inlaid turquoise and carved avanyu design slipped with micaceous black clay
8.5 in H by 9.25 in Dia
Red eyes on a black bear figure
Polished black bear with red eyes
1 in H by 1.75 in Dia
Turquoise inlay in a black and brown jar
Two-tone black and brown jar with a turquoise inlay
5 in H by 3.75 in Dia
Shouldered plain black water jar
Plain black shouldered water jar, 1st prize at SWAIA and at Heard Museum
8.75 in H by 8.25 in Dia
Turquoise inlay in a black and brown jar
Two-tone black and brown jar with a turquoise inlay
4 in H by 3.5 in Dia
Turquoise inlay in a two-tone black and sienna jar
Black and sienna jar with a turquoise inlay
3 in H by 3.25 in Dia
An avanyu design carved into a red jar with a kiva step rim, inlaid turquoise and micaceous slip
Kiva step rim on a red jar lightly carved with an avanyu design plus inlaid turquoise and micaceous slip around the rim
6.25 in H by 4.5 in Dia
Black band carved with an avanyu design with an inlaid heishe bead eye on a red jar Red jar with a black band carved with an avanyu design with an inlaid heishe bead eye
3.25 in H by 2.5 in Dia
A sgraffito avanyu design on a black jar with a sienna rim Black jar with a sienna rim and a sgraffito avanyu design
2.75 in H by 4 in Dia
Collaboration with Tse Pe
An inlaid turquoise on the back of a two-tone miniature bear figure A two-tone miniature bear figure with an inlaid turquoise on its back
1.5 in H by 2.25 in Dia
An avanyu design carved into a black jar with a micaceous slip, an inlaid turquoise and a sienna rim
A sienna rim on a black jar lightly carved with an avanyu design plus inlaid turquoise and micaceous slip
5.75 in H by 4.75 in Dia
Black jar with a sienna rim and a varved avanyu with an inlaid turquoise
An inlaid turquoise on a carved avanyu surrounding the neck of a black jar with a sienna rim
5.75 in H by 7.5 in Dia
A miniature black bowl with a sienna rim
A sienna rim on a miniature black bowl
1.5 in L by 1.5 in W by 1 in H
An inlaid turquoise on a black jar with an organic opening and a sienna spot A sienna spot on a black jar with an organic opening and an inlaid piece of turquoise
3 in Dia by 2.5 in H

San Ildefonso Pueblo Potters