Tonalá - Jalisco, Mexico - c1940

A wonderfully decorative earthenware jug from the Tonala valley, depicting a ‘Tlaquepaque’ scene with the most beautiful glazed artisanal composition. Graphic vivid colours depicting sleepy chaparral life, cacti and flora. In the 20s and 30s just outside Guadalajara and its neighboring pottery communities of San Pedro Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, you could find an immense thriving artistic center of pottery that had a 400-year tradition in the region. Tonalá was a thriving community of artisans steeped in the clay traditions, all living and working next to each other. Two styles emerged, one of twice fired clay that was dipped in a lead oxide bath for its second high firing, the other derived from the Pre-Columbian era. As the decades progressed and the roads got wider, pottery centers in nearly every state became sought after by the tourists and collectors. Artist families grew and made their livelihood from it and it is these pieces that modern collectors seek out. Though, at the forefront, it is Tlaquepaque and Tonalá that many antique and Mexican Folk Art collectors seek out today.

Reference: Donna McMenamin’s book, Popular Arts of Mexico 1850-1950, after its publication things drastically changed—increasing both the exposure and value of this pottery.

Dimensions: W 17cm x D 20cm x H 16cm