Vintage Mexican Folk Art Ameyaltepec Guerrero Pottery Man Woman Donkey Nativity?

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Vintage Mexican Folk Art Ameyaltepec Guerrero Pottery Man Woman Donkey Nativity?:
$175.00

This is a very rare, beautiful set of vintage pottery from Ameyaltepec and the indigenous Nahua that paint them in Guerrero, Mexico. This tan/red pottery is one of the oldest forms of pottery in Mexico. There are three figures appearing, I believe, to represent the nativity, however, the male figure appears to have a crown and the woman a broom, so possibly just royalty of some form. The detail on their garments is amazing, especially the female one. The shaping on all is unique and by hand. They are all in great shape with the exception of what appears to be some crown repair on the male figure. It looks like a chip on the back of the crown was fixed with some epoxy putty or clay, yet re-painted on the inside of the crown (which shows when displayed) rather well in a match. It blends well.

Male: 9 1/2\" tall by 4 1/2\" wide and 3 1/2\" deep

Female: 9 1/2\" tall by 4\" wide and 4\" deep

Donkey: 6 1/2\" tall by 2 1/2\" wide and 6\" long

With regard to provenance, I went on a quest for some of the oldest pieces I could find from this region and found some beauties that I will be listing. They are rare pieces to get ahold of given the remote region of Guerrero that they come from. Although \"new\" in the sense of never having been on display in someone\'s home, the set is a vintage set from the artists of that region, that I specifically sought out.

A beautiful work of art for your Mexican folk art collection.

A history of this type of pottery follows:

Ameyalepec Pottery

Painted clay, barro pintado, ismade by Nahua painters from la mezcala, a region on the BalsasRiver basin the state of Guerrero, Mexico. They paint beautifulcolonial scenes depicting their way of life which may includecathedrals and town squares, mountains and lakes and workers in thefields, fish, birds, deer or rabbit, agave plants and field workers,weddings, festivals. Religious and cultural events are often depicted on the pots, astyle known as barro con historia. A fabulous capsule of colonial life.

Pottery productionin Oapan and Ameyaltepec dates from pre-Hispanic times. Women madepots and plates, ceremonial pieces and human and animal figures. Inthe 1950\'s when foreign tourists starting coming to Mexico (Taxco,Acapulco and Cuernavaca), those areas became outlets for the Balsascrafters. There are severalvillages in the la mezcala region that paint on clay, amate paper orwood, but three villages are very significant for their geographiclocation and historical background:

Oapan - has apre-Hispanic pottery tradition and was the first place where paintedclay was made.

Ameyaltepec – isthe hometown of Pedro de Jesus and Critino Flores Medina, pioneers inthe amate paintings. The biggest evolution in the painting style wasaccomplished here. Home of the distinctive red/tan pottery.

Xalitla – a smallvillage located next to the Federal highway from Mexico City toAcapulco, becoming a producing and selling center for many Guerrerofolk art styles.