3000 Years of Pottery and Ceramics

I have written many times about the free expositions held at the Palace of Iturbide in the heart of the city's historic center.  The colonial mansion is the headquarters of the cultural division of Banamex, the Bank of Mexico, and each year they hold several exhibits.  The current show is entitled "Clay and Ceramics in Mexico".  670 pieces of pottery and ceramics, ranging from pre-Hispanic objects to contemporary creations are on display.

 

It is most definitely an impressive show, although I found it rather disorganized.  The curators of the exhibit admit that they did not organize the works by conventional categories such as date or region of origin.  I also found it skewed toward modern pieces and that short shrift was given to some of the country's traditional art forms.  For example, I only saw a few pieces of Oaxaca's famous black pottery.

Here are some of the objects in this exhibition...

Some pre-Hispanic pieces

During the colonial period the trade route from Asia to the Mexican port of Acapulco brought Chinese ceramics whose designs inspired the Talavera ware made in Puebla.

Art nouveau platters from the 1920s

English-inspired ceramic dogs from the 1980s

A 1960s tea set by Anfora, a company which is still a major producer of dinnerware.

Dinnerware by Anfora decorated with images of Mexico City landmarks

1940s vase with a pre-Hispanic design

1940s jar decorated with an Aztec eagle

Examples of dinnerware made in the 1960s in Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, a town in the state of Jalisco famous for their pottery.

A platter from Oaxaca decorated with fish

1950s coffee set from Oaxaca with pre-Hispanic decoration

1970s dinnerware from Tlaquepaque, Jalisco

Dinnerware from Tonalá featuring the Olympic rings in honor of the 1968 Games in Mexico City.

Lamp from the 1970s with a ceramic base from Tonalá

More from this exhibition in the next post...