Flight to Egypt Figurine by Stella Teller [SOLD]

This is a highly unique nacimiento set by award-winning Isleta Pueblo artist Stella Teller. It depicts the Biblical scene in which baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to find safety after Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream that King Herod sought to kill baby Jesus. The set is a spectacular commemoration of this very important event in the life of Jesus.

Mary is seen upon the back of a donkey while holding baby Jesus, as Joseph walks alongside them both. The figures are each covered with a smooth, beige slip, and all of the other colors are in matte finish. Each figure is adorned with a beautiful turquoise necklace, and each is wearing a gown and blanket. All the figures are finished in traditional Native American designs. This is a particularly special nacimiento which would fit well in any nativity set collection, let alone a Pueblo pottery collection.

Stella J. Teller (1929- ), who began working in clay at the age of eight, has a long career of making storyteller and nacimiento figurines and has consistently won prizes for them since she made her first one in 1978—the same year Adobe Gallery opened its doors in Albuquerque. Her pottery is distinguished from traditional Isleta Polychrome wares by its distinctive colors, which she says are all natural. The light gray, which has become her trademark, is produced by mixing white clay with manganese. She was one of the first potters to insert turquoise cabs into the clay. Not to be considered parochial, Stella Teller expanded the repertoire to include storyteller figurines representing Navajo, Isleta Pueblo, Apache, and Hopi males and females. She is credited with making the first storyteller to represent a Navajo.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Flight to Egypt Figurine by Stella Teller is from the collection of a client of Adobe Gallery

Recommended Reading: NACIMIENTOS Nativity Scenes by Southwest Indian Artisans, by Guy and Doris Monthan

TAGS: figurines, Isleta Pueblo, pottery, Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Chris, Mona, Robin