Elizabeth Manygoats Angel Pottery

Elizabeth Manygoats creates some of my very favorite folk art in the form of pottery. A self-trained artist, Elizabeth excels in expressing elements of her Diné culture in clay. She's one of ten sisters who also learned to work in clay, but she's the only one working full time. Coming from such feminine energy, Elizabeth is especially gifted at capturing women in her pottery forms and figures.

This holiday pottery form by Elizabeth Manygoats is unique and interesting. It's a hand formed arch, open on both ends with a serene Diné angel in relief. The angel is gracefully painted in white with sparkles on her wings. Then, the entire piece is covered in pinon pitch, which is the sticky sap of a type of pine tree. The pitch acts as a slip for Navajo pottery.

This piece of angel pottery can sit with the angel facing forward or arched over the top. It's small - 2 1/2" wide x 1 1/2" tall. If you had a teeny tiny nativity scene, you could place it inside the arch. You could also display it on a holiday table with some berries and a candle placed beside it. If you wanted to use it as a tree ornament, you can carefully put a tree branch through the arch. In fact, Elizabeth's angel pottery can also be used as a napkin ring. I have two to offer, so together they would beautifully decorate a simple holiday table for two.

This sweet piece was created in 2008, and was part of Martha Struever's private collection of holiday decorations and ornaments. Marti sold many pieces of Elizabeth Manygoats pottery, but these little angel pieces she had to hold onto for herself.

Signed and dated on the reverse.