indigenous pottery

A three-dimensional turtle strolls across the sand in this decorative plate. Handcrafted by Chorotega pottery artisan Ilsa Chavarría of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, the round decorative plaque is the natural colour of the ceramic in the centre and bordered with a dark red curved line motif rimmed in bands of orange and black. Maguey fiber cord is threaded through the top of the plaque for easy display.

Chorotega pottery is completely handmade with traditional techniques passed down through the generations for 3,000 years, and one of the last surviving cultural elements of the Chorotega people indigenous to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region and Nicoya Peninsula. Chorotega pottery is made from local clay mixed with a very fine freshwater sand. The artisans shape the clay on hand-operated pottery wheels and hand-polish the art piece to give it a smooth texture and luster. Designs are etched by hand and the pieces are painted with natural pigments made from pulverized local coloured rocks mixed with water, then fired in traditional wood-burning brick kilns. The result is a beautiful, earthen pottery unique to this region.

The Pipil or Nahua was an indigenous community that migrated from Mexico to El Salvador around 1000 AD and coexisted in some regions with the Mayas. Little is known about the influence they had on each other's cultures, but some ceramic vessels and pitchers with polychrome motifs painted over red or white backgrounds have been found. Oscar Rodolfo Mendoza gets inspiration from these ancient pottery techniques to handcraft a ceramic decorative jar whose lid is crowned with a falcon's head and whose body features glyphs painted with acrylic paints and natural dyes obtained from achiote seeds.

What ancient wisdom does this little man have to share? Handcrafted by Chorotega pottery artisan Elpidio Chavarría of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, this ceramic statuette of a seated man with headdress and glasses is the natural sand color of the clay with details painted in dark orange and brown.

Chorotega pottery is completely handmade with traditional techniques passed down through the generations for 3,000 years, and one of the last surviving cultural elements of the Chorotega people indigenous to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region and Nicoya Peninsula. Chorotega pottery is made from local clay mixed with a very fine freshwater sand. The artisans shape the clay on hand-operated pottery wheels and hand-polish the art piece to give it a smooth texture and luster. Designs are etched by hand and the pieces are painted with natural pigments made from pulverized local colored rocks mixed with water, then fired in traditional wood-burning brick kilns. The result is a beautiful, earthen pottery unique to this region.

This ceramic decorative vase is handcrafted by Chorotega pottery artisan Harry García of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. The round vase is hand-painted a deep brown featuring a variety of linear and geometric motifs whose etching lets the natural ceramic sand colour show through.

Chorotega pottery is completely handmade with traditional techniques passed down through the generations for 3,000 years, and one of the last surviving cultural elements of the Chorotega people indigenous to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region and Nicoya Peninsula. Chorotega pottery is made from local clay mixed with a very fine freshwater sand. The artisans shape the clay on hand-operated pottery wheels and hand-polish the art piece to give it a smooth texture and luster. Designs are etched by hand and the pieces are painted with natural pigments made from pulverized local coloured rocks mixed with water, then fired in traditional wood-burning brick kilns. The result is a beautiful, earthen pottery unique to this region.