{"id":55890,"date":"2020-09-21T12:57:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?p=55890"},"modified":"2024-04-21T23:05:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T06:05:02","slug":"mexican-talavera-pottery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/mexican-talavera-pottery","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Colorful Universe of Mexican Talavera Pottery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexican Talavera Pottery is famous for its radiance, intriguing textures, and rich history. Also known as Talavera Poblana<\/em>, this cultural tradition is rooted in Spanish and Mexican heritage<\/a> going all the way back to the 16th<\/sup> century. A type of tin-glazed earthenware or faience, it features a cornucopia of colors<\/a> in many of its designs, accounting for its popularity and inspiration for designers the world over.
\nThis tradition was in danger of going extinct by the early 19th<\/sup> century, due to the turmoil of the Mexican War of Independence that saw Mexico gain its independence from Spain. Steadfast campaigns to preserve it as a craft throughout the 20th<\/sup> century have ensured Talavera’s survival, causing it to flourish into the 21st<\/sup> century.
\nRead on to find out everything about the origins of this very special cultural design pattern.

<\/span>The History of Mexican Talavera Pottery<\/span><\/h2>

For the namesake of Talavera, we look to the Spanish city and municipality of Talavera de le Reina. In the first century of Mexico’s colonial period—which was the Spanish rule in Mexico that lasted from 1521 to 1821—this pottery was introduced. Back in Spain, this city was internationally renowned for its ceramics: King Phillip II used the city’s ceramics in his works, such as El Escorial’s monastery. Fittingly, the city’s nickname was “The City of Pottery.†This reputation would lead to naming the now-famous Mexican Talavera pottery after this Spanish city.
\nIt’s interesting to note that the Moors—the Muslim residents of Sicily, Malta, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Maghreb—brought knowledge of Islamic pottery to Spain by the close of the 12th<\/sup> century. From there, both Spanish and broader European earthenware was influenced by this introduction, and it eventually became known as majolica in Renaissance Italy. Since this refers to tin-glazed pottery, it needs to be said that the Netherlands’ Delft Blue pottery<\/a> is the Dutch interpretation of this design pattern.
\nWhen it comes to Talavera pottery actually becoming a good that was produced in Mexico—we currently only have theories as to how it happened. Yes, the Spanish brought over this craft from Europe, but who among them introduced it to Mexico’s pre-Hispanic cultures?<\/p>

The most accepted theory is that it was Spanish monks, who were on the hunt for beautiful tiles and other artworks to decorate their new monasteries in the New World. They could either send for artisans from back in Spain to join them in what would become Mexico, or they knew how to make these ceramics themselves already. Either way, it was the Spaniards—the craftsmen from Spain or the monks directly—who shared knowledge with the indigenous artists about how to create this pottery.
\nDuring Mexico’s colonial period, there were several centers in the country that became major producers of Talavera pottery:<\/p>