ALAVERA ROM UEBLA

One of the richest and most complete collections assembled by Franz Mayer is that of Talavera pottery from Puebla.

Glazed pottery was unknown in America until the arrival of the Spaniards, who learned the technique from the Arabs during their domination of the Iberian peninsula.

Having apparently been established in the city of Puebla as early as the 16th century, workshops there produced enameled pottery glazed with lead or stannous oxide. Their products created an intense demand throughout the Spanish empire, including colonies as remote as Venezuela and Peru.

Stannous ceramics -or white pottery from Puebla- became known as Talavera, referring no doubt to Talavera de la Reina in Spain, a traditional pottery producing region whose products were much sought after in New Spain and subsequently copied by craftsmen of the period. The collection covers three centuries of the finest pottery produced in Mexico, from the simplest pitchers, plates and platters to the most intricate vases and bowls which were so essential to interior decoration during colonial times. It is worth noting that Talavera from Puebla clearly shows the influence of Chinese porcelain on Western ceramics. Chinese objects reached Mexico aboard the Manila galleon, introducing new formal concepts which enriched the Spanish tradition.

An aspect of ceramics which should not be overlooked is the use of glazed tile in architectural ornamentation. The museum exhibits a variety of colonial tile designs, displayed on panels, as well as in the reconstruction of a colonial kitchen where tiles are shown to have been not only decorative but hygienic, insulating and impervious to liquid.

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