Mata Ortiz Ceramics

Chihuahua, México

Mata Ortiz pottery is a type of ceramic art from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Although this type of ceramic is based on the pre-Hispanic Mogollon pottery, it is named for the modern town of Mata Ortiz where almost every citizen is directly or indirectly involved in this art form.

Mata Ortiz potters generally work in their homes in a simple workspace.  Homemade tools shape the gray, yellow, orange, red or white clay. The single-coil method is the most popular form of building a piece. Paints are made from clay or from locally sourced crushed minerals. 

After a pot is dried, it is smoothed with a stone or deer bone and then painted.  Two to three small pots are often fired together; larger pots are fired individually. Surface and pit firing are both fueled by wood. All pieces are covered with a large overturned pot with air circulation allowed in the firing chamber. Black Mata Ortiz pots are fired in a sealed chamber which keeps the smoke in and the air out, resulting in a blackened pot. 

Mata Ortiz pottery pieces are made for their aesthetic value and use pre-Hispanic pottery only as inspiration, not as a means of continuing a folk-art tradition. The painted designed is where the artistic variation is most evident and skill levels vary greatly. Some potters stick to geometric patterns and colors like original local pre-Hispanic pottery with a classic oval shape. Others have developed shapes and styles with color variety, desert animals and thin and sweeping lines. Burnishing or polishing is common to give a soft shine to the finished piece. Surface graffito or engraving decorates some pots. 

Emphasis is generally on quality rather than quantity. There is an elite number of Mata Ortiz artists who truly create artistic pots although there are many artists who create good quality pots.