Barro negro pottery

In the 1950s, a potter named Doña Rosa devised a way to put a black metallic-like sheen onto the pottery by polishing it before firing.

From the 1980s to the present, an artisan named Carlomagno Pedro Martínez has promoted items made this way with barro negro sculptures which have been exhibited in a number of countries.

[6] Barro negro pottery can trace its origins to 2,500 years ago, with examples of it found at archeological sites, fashioned mostly into jars and other utilitarian items.

[3][5] This innovation makes the pieces more breakable, but it has made the pottery far more popular with Mexican folk art collectors, including Nelson Rockefeller, who promoted it in the United States.

[3][5] Doña Rosa died in 1980, but the tradition of making the pottery is carried on by her daughter and grandchildren who stage demonstrations for tourists in their local potters' workshop.

[6] Each piece Carlomagno makes is unique, following themes originating from oral histories, indigenous legends, Christianity and death.

In that same year, he created a mural in barro negro at the Baseball Academy in San Bartolo Coyotepec sponsored by the Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation.

[6] This style of pottery is made in San Bartolo Coyotepec and a large number of small communities in the surrounding valley, where the clay that gives it its color is found.

[5][11] This community is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south of the city of Oaxaca,[5] with about 600 families in the area dedicated to the craft.

[4] In addition to a number of family workshops, including Doña Rosa's, the Mercado de Artesanias is an important attraction which brings visitors from many parts of Mexico and other countries.

It has one of its three halls dedicated to barro negro, with pieces from the Monte Albán era to the present day.

[13] Many different kinds of objects are made of barro negro including pots, whistles, flutes, bells, masks, lamps, animal figures with most being of a decorative nature and not for the storage of food and water.

Valente Nieto, the sole surviving progeny of Doña Rosa, states that his family created the mezcal monkey.

He claims that his father was a gifted sculptor, and mezcal owners came to their property requesting novelty bottles for the alcoholic beverage.