Mexican Talavera Pottery

Talavera pottery originated in in Spain among the Arab-Andalusia culture. Arab Talavera potters settled 8 centuries ago in a region now known as Talavera de la Reina, Spain. The Spanish potters developed techniques and practices to produce the Talavera pottery material known as Majolica.

The Italian word Majolica refers to a Talavera pottery production process of applying or brushing pigments on raw or unfired glaze. Talavera pottery was spawned from Majolica, which was used by Italians in the 14th Century.

Talavera pottery Majolica was exported to Mexico in the 16th Century. History claims that Spanish monks colonizing Mexico employed and immigrated pottery craftsmen from Talavera de La Reina, Spain, to train the indigenous pottery artists residing in Puebla, Mexico how to create Talavera pottery with the same high quality of that produced in Spain. Mexico was already home to many native potters that skilled in producing pottery for everyday use in addition to religious and cultural uses. The Spaniards introduced Talavera pottery production tools and materials such as the potter’s wheel and tin-glazed pottery. The beautiful glaze work was the primary characteristic of majolica Talavera pottery.

Mexican pottery craftsmen combined the traditional Spanish majolica talavera pottery production with native pottery techniques of the Puebla region to produce Mexican Talavera Pottery. The Puebla, Mexico artistic culture and community became the new foundry for Talavera pottery.

Talavera pottery is made in several parts of Mexico, however official Talavera pottery is produced exclusively in Puebla. The Talavera pottery created in the workshops of Puebla is officially recognized by the Government of Mexico. The Mexican government has designated Talavera pottery with special trade protections. Puebla Talavera pottery manufacturers are regulated and required to adhere to specific fabrication processes used to make the original 16th Century Talavera pottery. Clay to produce Talavera pottery must be acquired from the few approved clay sites in the Puebla, Mexico region.

Originally, Talavera pottery buyers used color to differentiate the quality of fine pottery from lesser quality pottery. Mineral pigments required to create the color blue were quite expensive, and therefore the color blue was reserved for only the hiqhest quality Talavera pottery. In the 18th Century, the Talavera pottery artists began using more colors, like green, mauve and yellow, in addition to the traditional blue tones popularized in the 16th and 17th Centuries.

Puebla, Mexico was home to skilled pottery artists and high quality clay, hence, Mexican Talavera pottery achieved profound quality and beauty. Wealthy Mexican families displayed extensive collections of talavera pottery in dinner sets and wall decorations. Mexican Talavera pottery has since experienced a surge of appreciation by collectors and interior designers in Mexico and the USA. Many retailers stock various Talavera pottery items such as talavera plates, talavera platters, talavera bowls, talavera jars and vases, talavera sinks, talavera dinner sets, talavera tiles, kitchen decoration, interior decoration, wall decoration, garden pottery, bathroom decoration, seasonal items and more.

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