Oaxaca is full of culture, gastronomy, nature, color and art, a very traditional style of art and very known in Oaxaca is the black clay, in this post I am going to tell you about this incredible type of clay made with hands of oaxacan craftsmen.
THE BLACK CLAY IS THE ONLY TYPE OF CLAY THAT IS MADE IN OAXACA?
Oaxaca has a lot of variety of gastronomy, cultures, languages, handcrafts and clays, there are three types: black (today I´m going to tell you about it), red, and green, of wich I will tell you in other posts.
Black clay is a type of pottery that is considered one of the most rigorous, actually the elaboration is principally for art, its shine is obtained by burnished and polished techniques, this added to the fact that is cooked to simmer has made the pieces brittle.
WHERE DID BLACK CLAY CAME FROM?
Black clay has ancestral origins, since before the arrival of the Spaniards it was used to make vases, plates and pitchers, although at that time they did not work very well because the water leaked into the pots, among other things because they were made of clay and were not fired. Its believed that zapotec and mixtec culture were the ones that started the production, principally zapotecs in San Bartolo Coyotepec where where the first traces of pottery were found in the area.
After the arrival of the spanish people new materials were used and black clay ¨disappeared¨ but not totally. In the 50´s black clay from Doña Rosa Real del Nieto was taken to Los Angeles to expose it to the world.
HOW IS BLACK CLAY PROCESSED AND WHY IS IT BLACK?
The elaboration of black clay is difficult, it starts with the extraction of the clay that in San Bartolo Coyotepec comes from nearby hill, the extraction can only be done by men, this is because it is believed that the mine will not produce more clay if women extract it.
At the moment that the clay is collected the clay is not black, is brown or gray.
After the clay has been collected, all the impurities are removed by putting it in water and letting it settle.
When the clay is ready, the potters start to knead the clay until is soft and moldable.
The next step is to give the form, here the artisan elaborates a lot of types of pieces like vases, flower vases, jewelry boxes and others, when the piece is ready is left in the sun for 4 days so it dries.
When the time has passed the cuts and forms that give the piece that unique and magic touch are made, when finished the object is polished with quartz crystals by hand and like that is how it obtains the brightness, when the artisan finishes puts the piece to the sun more days.
The last step is to cook the pieces at a temperature of 700 to 800 grades Celsius in an oven of ¨dos bocas¨(two mouths) for a full day. The heat produced with wood from the oven does not get out and like that it gets the black color, when the clay comes out from the oven is totally hard and gets polished for last time.
SO, IS IT THE ESSENTIAL CLAY OF OAXACA?
Every person has their own answer, but for me yes, because it is a style of pottery that could survive in time, that takes a long time and that is incredible, black clay is known in a lot of parts of Mexico and out of the country, with this clay there are made fine art pieces, so I would definitely say that if you come to Oaxaca you can’t miss it.
PLACES TO SEE AND BUY BLACK CLAY IN OAXACA
Black clay has extended by all Mexico and it has arrived to other places in the world.
In Oaxaca you can buy it and see it in markets, handcrafts stores or in the towns that produce it that are San Bartolo Coyotepec and Santa María Atzompa, in both you can see authentic black clay, if you are interested in observing this magnific handcrafts with your own eyes and you want to take one of this to home you can contract us and live an incredible experience.
I hope that this post helped you to learn new things about Oaxaca and that you contract us to live unforgettable experiences in Oaxaca.
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