Tag Archives: Mud Toys

Navajo Folk Art Nativity

This Nativity by Nina Malone sets the birth of Jesus in a Navajo context. There are eleven figures in total: Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child, three Magi, a donkey and an ox, and two sheep. The different pieces have been glued onto the base.

The nativity is handmade from natural clay in Navajo Folk Art style. These kind of figurines are known as Mud Toys. Each piece is individually hand formed. Mud toys are often sun baked and not fired like traditional pottery. Each figurine is painted with acryclic paint.