Mexican Tzintzuntzan ceramic painted plate, farmers
Diameter: 13.5"

Pottery in Michoacan
(Source: Wiki) Michoacán has numerous pottery-making communities with each region of the state having its own style as well as a number of towns. Noted pottery centers include Capula, Patamban, Cucuchucho, Santa Fe de la Laguna, Ocumicho, Uruapan, Tzintzuntzan and Patzcuaro. Some potters are full-time artisans but most also work as farmers or in other occupations. In general, the entire family works at the craft especially preparing the clay before molding. Modern pottery is made in burnished, multi-colored, high-fire, glazed and smooth finished, using a mix of European and indigenous techniques.

Indigenous pottery techniques that survive include barro bruñido or burnished pottery, which is not glazed but rather polished with a hard object, such as a stone, before firing. The most common object made with this technique is the water jug, and the best known communities for this work are Tzintzuntzan, Pataban, Zinapécuaro, Cocucho, Huáncito and Ichán. A simpler pottery is made in the Nahua communities on Michoacan's coast in communities such as Zipiajo, called barro alisado. This technique is used principally to make pots and comals .

"Pineapple" pottery piece from San José de GraciaPolychromatic pottery is made either by using different colored clay or through the use of paint. The most common object make with various colors are figures from the Bible and daily life and Christmas ornaments, especially in Ocumicho. One other unique figure from this town is a playful Devil, appearing in scenes such as the Last Supper or coming between two lovers. This last figure has a collective trademark.

The glazing of pottery was introduced in the colonial period, and since then various towns have developed their own styles. The best known traditional glazed pieces are the green glazed pottery of Patamban and that of Capula, which is decorated with numerous tiny dots of paint. Other notable communities include Tzintzuntzan for its pots and cazuelas, Santa Fe de la Laguna for its black incense burners and candle holders decorated with small pieces of clay along with Zinapécuaro, Santo Tomás and Huáncito, which all make drip glazed wares.

High fire ceramics are a more recent introduction to the state and are principally made in Patamban, Tzintzuntzan and Morelia. There are notable workshops of this type in other towns as well, such as that of Gustavo Bernal Varela in Tlalpujahua.Metals

Good condition overall