Isleta Pueblo Eleven Piece Pottery Nacimiento [SOLD]

Robin Teller is a daughter of Stella Teller of Isleta Pueblo.  She started working with clay in 1988 when she was 34 years old, later than most potters.  Within three years, she was winning awards at Santa Fe Indian Market—First Place in 1991 for storytellers and Third Place in 1992 for figurative pottery; Best of Division for figurative pottery at the Heard Museum in 1998; and unspecified awards at Eight Northern Pueblo Indian Arts & Crafts Show.

This nacimiento set by Robin differs from those of her mother in that Robin populates her sets with wild animals rather than domesticated ones.  There is a brown bear, a deer, a mountain lion, two rabbits, a fox, and a badger.

Mary and Joseph are sitting on a log and Baby Jesus is wrapped in a blanket and asleep in a manger.  One of the kings, wrapped in a blanket, carries a drum, a gourd rattle and a flute as his gifts; another king carries a blanket and pair of moccasins as his gifts, and the third king carries a basket filled with bread and pie slices.

The nacimiento is painted with soft pastel pigments in the style of her mom’s sets.  This is a newly made set, having just been completed.

Condition: this Isleta Pueblo Eleven Piece Pottery Nacimiento is new

Provenance: from the artist

Reference: Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf