Description
Overview
This is a figural candelabra by Angélica Vásquez Cruz (born 1958) of Santa María Atzompa, Oaxaca. She is one of Mexico’s most celebrated master potters and a 2009 recipient of the National Arts and Sciences Award in Arts and Traditions. A young woman with braided hair balances a water jar on her head while cradling a cascade of small flower-decorated vessels that serve as candle sockets. This is consistent with Vásquez Cruz’s figures celebrating Oaxacan women and village life.
Craft World Tours had a documented relationship with the artist. The Wilsons’ 2009 “Christmas in Oaxaca” tour visited her Atzompa workshop on December 21, 2009, and the collection’s Oaxaca tours spanned many years. This piece is likely from the 1990s-2000s and is consistent with acquisition during those visits. It comes from the Craft World Tours Collection, assembled over four decades by Tom and Sherry Wilson.
Design & Craftsmanship
Function & Form: A hand-built, hollow, cone-shaped figure, open at the base. It has about 15 small candle-socket pots, held in her arms and stacked around her skirt, plus the jar on her head. It measures about 9.5″ H x 5″ W x 4″ D and weighs 1 lb 6 oz.
Artistry & Ornamentation:
- Unglazed earthenware decorated with pastillaje, the artist’s applied clay work: individually formed cream flowers with red-brown centers, braided hair coils, and two small animal heads, possibly deer or goats, at the chest.
- The color comes from contrasting natural clays and burnished mineral slips, not paint. This is the artist’s signature technique.
- The face is finely incised, with outlined eyes and brows.
Structural Base: Hand-signed “Angélica Vásquez Cruz” across the back of the skirt.
Condition Report
Surface Condition: Light surface wear, consistent with age and storage, to the unglazed clay and slips. No chips, fine cracks or firing separations were observed.
Structural Integrity: Stable. This is fragile, unglazed earthenware and should be handled with care; it is best displayed as is or with LED candles. This item is sold “as-is” with all associated patina and wear inherent to its age and history as part of the Craft World Tours Collection.
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