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Spaces/Glow Images; Robert Fried/Alamy Stock Photo; John Mitchell/Alamy Stock Photo; Leo Kanaka/Alamy Stock Photo; Lee Foster/Alamy Stock Photo; Danita Delimont/Alamy Stock Photo
IntervalWorld.com INTERVAL WORLD Spring 2016 31
GETTING YOUR POTTERY
HOME IN ONE PIECE
Most reputable retailers are set up to pack and
ship your items home in special padding and
containers. That said, here are a few tips on
protecting your purchase.
1. Confirm that the package will be shipped via
a major carrier such as FedEx or UPS.
2. Have the merchant include your contact
information on the air bill.
3. Take down the merchant’s contact
information, as well as the tracking number.
4. Check to see if the carrier’s insurance will
cover the value of your purchase. If not,
consider buying extra.
Plaza Bonita Cancún, located
downtown on Avenida Xel-há,
resembles a Mexican village, lined
with restaurants and shops selling
handicrafts. Next to it is Mercado 28,
a market popular with locals.
plazabonita.mx;
+52 99 8884 7105
La Quinta Avenida
(5th Avenue) is a 3-mile-long
pedestrian shopping street in bustling
Playa del Carmen, strung with
restaurants, cafes, and shops offering
ceramics from all regions of Mexico. Be
sure to visit Siete Detalles, just off of
5th Avenue. sietedetalles.com;
+52 98 4879 4510
Alfarería Tlaquepaque in downtown
Puerto Vallarta specializes in Mexican
folk art from all over the country,
including pottery and clay creations.
+52 32 2223 2121
Mexican Pottery is packed with
Talavera-type ceramics, offering a lead-
free warranty and an abundance of
patterns. mexicanpottery-art.com;
+52 62 4105 0046
Necri Boutique, in the heart of the
town’s Art District, showcases authentic
Talavera and barro negro pottery, as well
as other ceramics and handicrafts.
necri.com.mx;
+52 62 4130 7500
SHOPPING
FOR POTTERY
BARRO NEGRO
Origin: San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca
Defining features: Shiny, silvery-black glazed exteriors with pierced
decorations
In the 1950s, Oaxacan potter Doña Rosa Real de Nieto pioneered a new
ceramics style, polishing dull clay with quartz until it shone like glass.
Once fired, the pieces turned a glossy black with a startling metallic
sheen. Today, barro negro is the community’s trademark handicraft.
TALAVERA
Origin: Puebla, Puebla
Defining features: Painted surfaces depicting anything from fruit and
flowers to geometric motifs heavily influenced by Spanish-Moorish traditions
In the 16th century, Spanish potters discovered that the soils of Mexico’s
Puebla region were ideal for a ceramics style popular in their native
country, and the area became the hub of a vibrant industry. Only wares
from certified workshops can be legally identified as Talavera.
MATA ORTIZ
Origin: Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua
Defining features: Precise and detailed patterns with curvilinear
sweeps of movement, and abstract depictions of desert animals and flora
Mata Ortiz pottery is a modernistic riff on a pre-Hispanic form. A poor
farmer named Juan Quezada Celado is credited with reinventing the style in
the 1960s, based on the decorative images on earthenware ruins found in
an archeological site near the town of Mata Ortiz.
TONALÁ BRUÑIDO
Origin: Tonalá, Jalisco
Defining features: Bright colors with a distinct satiny shine, often
featuring fantastical animals and lavish blooms
Colorful creations, featuring flora, fauna, and the bruñido (burnished) style
are hallmarks of the pottery produced in Tonalá since colonial times.
Porcelain-fine clay results in high-quality pieces, known for their surrealistic
designs that speak of local folklore.
GREEN GLAZED POTTERY
Origin: Santa María Atzompa, Oaxaca
Defining features: Glossy jade-green hue, often decorated with reliefs
of flowers, leaves, and other designs
The town of Santa María Atzompa is known for its green pottery, with the
color coming from a certain type of glaze that’s been used for generations.
The glaze and technique were introduced by the Spanish colonists to a
civilization that had been making pottery in a similar way for centuries.