Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

 

A diverse collection of tribal ethnic pottery art from Central America (Costa Rica, Panamá, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua) and the North African Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia).

 

Central America

 

Costa Rica

The remnant indigenous Chorotega potters of the Guanacaste/Nicoya region of northwest Costa Rica, since the pre-European contact era until present, continue creating their distinctive oven baked and painted (with natural slips) art pottery. Some of these Indian pottery pieces are re-creations of their ancestors’ archeological objects, while other objects are more contemporary, but always informed by their pre-Columbian aesthetic.

 

Ceramic tripod ‘chocolatera’ pot, Costa Rica

Galeria Namu

 

Vintage Chorotega Indians pottery handmade vase Costa Rica

 

 

 

Chorotega Indian pottery vessel, Costa Rica

Galeria Namu

 

 

Monkey motif ceramic vase – PEFI Ceramics

Costa Rica

 

 

Carved mask with painting by two  artists of the Brunka Tribe-  Ismael Gonzalez and his son Melvin Gonzalez.

Galeria Namu

 

Hand decorated, quality eco-tile. Made in Santa Barbara de Heredia,Costa Rica by Patricia Bedoya.

Galeria Namu

 

Ocelote figurine carved from Tagua nut

 

 

Brunka tribe-Carved wood Coatimundi figure with the ‘jícara’ fruit shell.

Painting by Paco Lazaro Fernandez and carved by his mother Loli Lazaro Fernandez

Galeria Namu

 

 

Boruca tribe pottery kiln, Costa Rica

 

 

 

PEFI Ceramics water jug, Costa Rica

 

Forest Cat mask- Brunka tribe – carved and painted by the artist Melvin Gonzalez.

Galeria Namu

 

 

 

Amerindian Pot with ancient motifs and contemporary design

Galeria Namu

 

 

Colourful Goblet Pair from the PEFI collection by Cecilia Facio de Figueres

 

 

Chorotega indigenous art collection –  A model of a jaguar ceremonial grinding stone

Galeria Namu

 

 

 

Costa Rica Pottery Vase with Etched Turtle Design Signed Mauro

 

 

Indigenous Chorotega pottery figure using only natural mineral slips

Galeria Namu

 

 

Cherries cookie jar – PEFI ceramics

 

 

Female ceramic figure sculpture – Noble woman of Nicoya–Guanacaste

 

 

Colorful Sushi Plate from PEFI Ceramic collection. By Cecilia Facio

 

 

 

Chorotega indigenous art Jaguar Pot. Hand-made by talented artisans of this native group of Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Galeria Namu

 

Traditional decorative plate by Chorotega Tribe

 

 

Panama

 

 

Wounaan carved ivory nut hermit crab, Panama

Galeria Namu

 

 

Hand carved owl

 

 

Wounaan handwoven basket features a carved tagua nut hummingbird hovering and feeding on its lid

Panama

 

French Angelfish Figurine tagua sculpture Wounaan tribe of Panama

 

 

Handwoven lidded pot – Panama Wounaan tribe

 

 

 

Guatemala

 

 

Chimenea de barro – Guatemalan Ceramic Garden/Patio Heater

Rudy Giron Photography

 

 

Flower motif coffee cup–Guatemala

 

 

Carved jade sculptural head – Museos de Casa Santo Domingo

 

 

Mayan ceramic replica -Guatemala

 

 

Mayan pottery traditions in Guatemala

 

 

Guatemalan basket weaver

 

Guatemalan ceramic platter

 

 

Honduras

 

Historically, the country’s most important handicrafts have been in the production of pottery and objects made of twisted, knotted, spun and woven plant fibers, especially ropes, baskets, textiles, and mats. The Mesoamerican peoples that lived in the Honduran territory at the time of the Spanish conquest, the Chortis, Chorotegas and Lencas, developed a highly sophisticated level of pottery, ranging from the simplest products for daily use to the most intricate ceremonial objects. The Lenca pottery arts is a testimony to the pottery tradition of Honduras and its activity is reserved for women in the community, popularly called loceras. The process of creation and painting is done by hand using old techniques where no artificial ingredients are used, the colors used favor organic pigments which are obtained through natural procedures. After a piece is molded, it is left for a few days in the sun and once dry, it is placed in an outdoor adobe oven.

 

 

Lenca contemporary pottery Honduras

Acta De Honduras

 

 

Indigenous Lenca tribe pottery, Honduras

Galeria Namu

 

 

Lenca contemporary pottery Honduras

 

 

Lenca plate Honduras

 

 

Lenca woman flower vase

Carmentas

 

 

 

Lenca black and white vase

 

 

Lenca contemporary plate – Alessandra Foletti

Honduras

 

 

Lenca ceramic abstract striped bottle

Galeria Namu

 

 

Lenca adobe kiln

 

 

Honduran Lenca lizard motif vase

 

 

Lenca pottery vessel

 

 

 

Honduras Lenca Pottery vase

 

 

 

Indigenous Lenca pottery artist Maria Amgadalena

La Arada, Valle in Honduras.

 

 

 

Nicaragua

 

Sgraffito fish motif pot Artisan San Juan de Oriente

Handmade in Nicaragua

 

 

Pottery Vase by Miguel Angel Calero

Nicaragua

 

 

Sgraffito turtle  motif pot by San Juan de Oriente

Nicaragua

 

 

Costa Rican ceramic plate

 

 

Maghreb

 

Algeria

 

In North Africa, wheel-thrown pottery made by men dates from the 7th century B.C. when the Phoenicians introduced the potter’s wheel to the Algerian coast. Handbuilt pottery made by women, including those from the Kabyle, an older, probably indigenous tradition, dates back 2000 years before the birth of Christ. Pottery and ceramics are handmade in simple kilns, and then painted using natural-made paints and dyes, applied manually by the fingers of the women who make them. This advanced and meticulous way of “finger-painting” pottery is a prized example of Algerian art made by indigenous artisans and fine craftsmen.

 

Kabyle (Berber) pottery double vessel from northeastern Algeria

19th century

By cliff1066 via Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Kabylie Algerian pottery jug

 

 

Berber water vessel, Kabylie, Algeria

 

 

Kabyle peoples jar – Ceramic and pigment vessel with the head of an animal from Algeria

!9th Century

National Museum of African Art, Washington DC

 

 

 

Algerian Kabylia pottery vessel

Photographer: Jeff Jones

 

 

Algerian Kabyle oil lamp

 

 

Handpainted Kabyle pot

 

 

Kabyle (Berber) Pottery, Algeria

 

 

 

The National Excellence Centre for Ceramics in Tipaza, Algeria

 

 

Morocco

 

Women’s pottery from the Rif, a mountainous area of Morocco,  whose roots go back to the Neolithic, is considered part of the World Cultural Heritage, due to its great anthropological artistic value. In the Taounate province, due to the risk of this tradition disappearing, the organisation Innovarte initiated a project aimed at preserving the trading and revival of all the repertoires of their crafts. It also included improving the women’s working conditions and enhancement of production techniques. Also the design of new collections are encouraged along with support for commercialization.

 

 

Pottery from the Rif, Taounate

 

 

 

Terracotta pottery vessel from the Rif mountains, Al Hoceima

Innovarte

 

 

Women’s pottery from the Rif, Taounate, Morocco

 

 

 

Rif pottery at Chefchaouen

Photo – David K. Edwards

 

 

Women’s pottery vessel  – Rif, Taounate

 

 

Moroccan hand painted pottery vessels – Rif, Taounate

 

 

Moroccan female potter from the Rif, Taounate

Innovarte

 

 

Chefchaouen blue pottery vessel, Morocco

 

 

 

Lidded pottery jar – Rif, Taounate

 

 

Moroccan Rif  Taounate female potters

 

 

Moroccan Ceramics of the Rif

 

 

Hand painted Moroccan Rif pottery

 

 

Large jade green Moroccan storage jars

 

 

Moroccan Rif Al Hoceima tea set

 

 

Tunisia

 

The coastal town of Nabeul is an ancient pottery center in Tunisia.

 

 

Large baluster pottery in Nabeul

 

Tunisian pot with geometric decoration

 

 

Tunisian pot with twin fishes and calligraphy motif

Dennis Jarvis – flickr

 

 

Vintage Jug-Vase from Nabeul, Tunisia

 

 

Village of Tataouine, Southern Tunisia

 

 

Square twin fish motif platter, Tunisia

 

 

Amphora ovoid vessel, mosaic style twin fish motif

Island of Djerba in Tunisia

 

 

 

Tunisian geometric design ceramic vase

Nabeul, Tunisia – 1930’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

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