Traditional Polychrome Mata Ortiz Hand Coiled Indian Pottery by Casas Grandes artist Jote.

This is a one of a kind! This is a very desirable design from Casas Grandes Valley. Fine pottery such as this is distinguished by its beauty and balance. This Traditional Design pot is delicately hand etched and features a repeating frog design. This is an excellent piece of art with its symmetric hand painted lines and designs. An addition to your collection to be proud of. It is hand made from the Mata Ortiz region and it stands 13-1/2" tall and 14" wide. The circumference is 44-1/2" with a 5" opening. Signed Lucie Jote. Potters make no measurements or sketches and paint designs free-hand.

The inspiration for Casas Grandes pottery is taken from the historical Casas Grandes tradition. The renaissance of this beautiful pottery began in the early 1960's, following the Amerind Foundation's excavation of the nearby Paquime ruins in 1958. Until that time, there was little interest in the antiquities of the area, but after the excavation, a new awareness developed. Technically and aesthetically, Casas Grandes pottery equals or surpasses the work of the Indian potters of the American Southwest. It is made with clay from the mountains high above the village of Mata Ortiz, painted with human hair brushes and natural pigments (minerals and roots of plants). It is hand-formed, without the use of a potter's wheel, and is dung fired. Building the pot starts as coils spiral upward, one above the other. The potter squeezes them between her thumbs and fingers. This thins the coils to the thickness of the finished pot. The cracks between the coils are smoothed out as she turns the pot. As the walls rise, the potter smooths them and slopes them inward and outward.