22-0002c Jemez Pueblo Pottery, Nativity Figures by Mary E Toya
ca 1970-1980
5 Figures of Mary, Joseph , Jesus, Sheep and Cow
tallest figure, Joseph 1.25" h
Signed ME Toya Jemez on the bottom of the Jesus figure
From a Private Colorado Collection
Excellent Condition
Mary E Toya
Jemez Pueblo
Mary E. Toya was a member of the Water Clan at Jemez Pueblo. She was born in 1934 and passed on in 1990, but not before passing her knowledge and skills on to her daughters Anita, Judy, Mary Ellen and Marie.
Along with Mary Small, Mary was one of the first Jemez potters to begin to hand-coil and make well-made pottery again after the failed revival of the 1920s. That was in the 1960s and while many Jemez potters and painters were making the switch from acrylic and poster paints to natural pigments and greenware, the two Mary's led the way back into fully hand-made-of-natural-materials art.
Mary was a maker of jars, bowls, plates, wedding vases, nativities and storytellers from 1950 to 1990. She was known for making large storytellers, some with more than 100 babies on them.