BARRO NEGRO
Technique
Our Mexican artisans from the state of Oaxaca mold with their hands black clay extracted from their lands, to transform them into different pieces, for example, black clay skulls adorned with delicate figures.
You will love this handcraft for its minimalist, elegant and innovative style!
Find in the store the piece that will decorate your spaces!
Get to know this craft technique!
San Bartolo’s landscape and flora is the inspiration of our master craftsman. Openwork details: perforations with different shapes such as flowers and geometric figures. Decoration: the decoration are pieces like tops, sticks etc. Smooth: polish to get it as shiny as posible. (Polish process is made with quartz) Rustic: It has no design, it’s there when we craft pieces to contain water such as jars and crockery.
TECHNIQUES
BARRO NEGRO
The finding of the black clay comes from our ancestors, they have found remains older than 500 years in Montalban.
Only men extract clay from a quarry in the San Bartolo hills. The legend tells us that if women came to the quarry the clay could lose quality and it would not work to craft.
Once pieces are in the kiln, it takes 8-12 hours to get done, depending on the weather and how many pieces are in the kiln. Clay crafts need to behold for a day before selling them.
Go to read our blog: “The legend of Black Clay”.
If you love Mexican culture and want to know more… use the icons!. They will guide you to the corresponding region and artisan.
FAll in love with the details of our pieces with the Barro negro technique.
Each symbol represents a story BE PART OF IT!
VERONICA PEDRO
ARTISAN
Art style BARRO NEGRO
Vero and Paulino live in San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca, located 20 minutes away from Oaxaca’s downtown. We belong to a Zapotec ethnic group.
She tells us:
- I started when I was 13, my grandparents taught me to make handmade crafts, my first crafts were birds, turtles, and mermaids.
- My grandparents used to craft ornamental ducks, bigger mermaids, religious pictures and many more pieces people asked for.
If you love Mexican culture and want to know more… use the icons!. They will guide you to the corresponding region and craft technique.
OAXACA
Region
San Bartolo Coyotepec is a town located in the center of Oaxaca, home to more than 4000 people. The art created by men and women using the characteristic black clay as well as the very noticeable female presence positions this town as a special place worldwide.
The exquisite details of this hand-molded back clay stand out. This beautiful art comes to life thanks to the men who, in addition to creating, extract the black mud to achieve an elegant transformation.
San Bartolo Coyotepec is characterized by being the only place in the world where the vast majority of its inhabitants are dedicated to the elaboration of ceramics with black clay.
The use of black mud is a pre-Hispanic activity, so this natural resource is very important for the cultural essence of Mexico in Oaxaca.
If you love Mexican culture and want to know more… use the icons! They will guide you to the corresponding artisan and craft technique.