16-Piece Polychrome Pottery Nacimiento (Nativity) Figurine Set [SOLD]

Manuel Vigil of Tesuque Pueblo is considered the first pueblo artisan to make Nacimientos. He made his first set around 1959. Although he may have made a thousand sets or more in his 30-plus years of production, each set is different. Some sets were made in Plains Indian dress, some in Pueblo-style clothing, some in Colonial-style dress, and some in plain micaceous clay.

Traditional to Tesuque Pueblo style, his figures were painted after firing. His most popular set is the brightly-colored one presented here. It is also the style presented on the cover of the Nacimiento book referenced below.

This 16-piece set consists of the 4-piece Holy Family, three Wise Men with their unique gifts, three shepherds, 4 separate sheep, a cow, and a donkey. It was originally purchased in the 1990s from The Covered Wagon in Old Town Albuquerque. It was probably made in the late 1970s or early 1980s and is in very fine condition. There have been no breaks or repairs. Some of the feathers are missing.