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The history of Talavera pottery
The Art of Talavera
Talavera pottery is a synthesis of various influences and bears similarities between Hispano-Arabic and Mexican art. Spain, Italy, and China, implying a five-fold cross-breeding testifying the multiplicity of people and cultures that have come together in Mexico. From Greece to China, from China to the Middle East, from the Middle East to Spain, and finally from Spain to Mexico, the world renowned tradition of the art of Talavera has remained in the cities of Dolores Hidalgo, GTO and Puebla for more than 400 years.
Once in Mexico . . .
Between 1550 and 1570 a number of potters arrived in Puebla, Mexico, from the Spanish city of Talavera de la Reina. Thanks to the intense colonial trade that Puebla maintained with Mexico City and other cities and mining centers in Mexico during the 17th century, Talavera came into wide use and achieved a rapid and extensive distribution reaching almost every corner of Mexico.
But just as distribution was related to the expansion of inter-colonial commerce, its sudden decline in the late 18th century can be attributed to the end of the colonial system, when the wide use of Talavera was dramatically reduced by imported glassware manufactured in Europe.
Today, the craft is perpetuated by individual families of master skills, still performing age-old rituals, whose techniques have been passed down through the centuries. Talavera is crafted through a process requiring two firings, which produces the unique color & sheen characteristic of the pottery. Each piece is handmade. The complex process takes four to six weeks for each piece. Unfortunately, Talavera coarse imitations have proliferated and there are only a few workshops in Mexico, all located in Puebla, which can offer authentic Talavera pottery made accordingly to the craftsmanship legacy. Traditionally, the art of Talavera has been related to certain spaces: The kitchen, the interior of the home, exterior walls, cupolas, the facade of churches, the convent and religious sculpture. The Mexican or Hispano Poblano style is the product of the fusion of styles and influences that had inspired the different Talavera decorations until the 1800's. The feather-like ornament typically related to the Talavera, for example, is a variation of the oriental technique to fill empty spaces with floral decorations.
The Talavera earthenware displayed in Mexico's museums is of a beauty and variety that few can fail to appreciate. Most private collections of Talavera were begun at the end of the 19th century. In addition to the collections in Mexico, there are also collections in the United States in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Santa Fe. The Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City has 726 pieces from the 17th, 18th and 19th century.
The Bello Museum located in provincial Puebla de los Angeles is aptly situated in the house where its founder lived until his death. To enter is to step straight into the late 19th century. The rarity and scope of the Bello Museum's Talavera collection are such that only a native of Puebla could have achieved it by ordering and juxtaposing new objects.
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