Further Media
Producer unknown to us
Figurine, labeled as “Rain God”
Americas, USA, New Mexico, Tesuque Pueblo
Prior to 1908
Clay
Rudolf Daniel Ludwig Cronau (journalist, author, painter, illustrator)
Purchased by the museum from Rudolf Cronau in 1908
NAm 1476
On display here is one of the so-called "rain god figurines" made of clay, thousands of which were produced for the tourist and art market in the Tesuque Pueblo near Santa Fe between 1880 and about 1930. Collector Rudolf Cronau (1855–1939) was a Saxon journalist, author and artist. From his first trips to the United States beginning in 1881, he drew scenes of the American West, including portraits of Indigenous people, and thus also shaped Saxony's fascination with "America."
Like this piece, many objects were destroyed or damaged by a bomb hit in December 1943. In the North American section, only about 120 objects remained in 1945 out of an original 4000. To this day, staff members are working on restoring or correctly reassigning objects based on drawings on old catalog slips.
Frank Usbeck