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Stumped by this yard sale find- Tlaquepaque Tonala Fantasia? Or something else?

In Pottery > Mexican Pottery > Show & Tell.
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    Posted 4 years ago

    thosepesky…
    (1 item)

    Full Imgur Gallery:
    https://imgur.com/gallery/dT3FAu7

    Dimensions:
    11” Across (from edge of round potion to end of handle)
    4 1/2” High
    Bottom of round pot: 8” across
    Handle: 3 ¼” long

    Location:
    Found at yard sale in Phoenix, AZ

    After hours of googling last night, I came to the conclusion that this may be Tlaquepaque - Tonala pottery – the kind of pottery made to sell to tourists on the streets of Tlaquepaque and Tonala in Mexico. The floral / leaf design may be “Flor de Tonala” or Fantasia style. It’s an unusual color scheme, but I found a few similar examples.

    However, there are some things about this theory that do not make sense:

    1. If this is the case, why isn’t the pot marked “MEXICO” like every other example I’ve seen?

    2. Why would a pot with obvious flaws (the brown spots under the glaze) be sold to tourists?

    3. Why would a badly flawed pot like this be fired in the first place? Back when I did ceramics, we had a bin for flawed pieces like this (you'd throw your broken or flawed pieces in the bin, and later the clay could be rehydrated & re-used). If this is a piece made in a tourist town for tourists, why wasn’t this pot just recycled? There must be a reason why it was not only fired but also glazed – both resource-intensive processes.

    4. The cream and blue color scheme and flowers with pointed petals both seem unusual for Tonala Tlaquepaque pottery. The flowers with pointed petals seem almost European?

    5. Is there any significance to the metallic sheen in the glaze?

    6. What's up with the weird deer/rabbit/duck/bird creature? It doesn't fit any images of Fantasia style deer or Nagual imagery from Mexico that I can find.

    Any thoughts?

    Unsolved Mystery

    Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.

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    Comments

    1. thosepeskysnails thosepeskysnails, 4 years ago
      Thank you! Do you have any thoughts on why the style of animal is so different from the other examples? Or any thoughts on what it is?
    2. Blammoammo Blammoammo, 4 years ago
      It looks a bit like something made by PUENTE DEL ARZOBISPO POTTERY
      Spain.
    3. ho2cultcha ho2cultcha, 3 years ago
      there really isn't a big mystery here. this is from Tonala or Tlalpequaque. i see this color combination alot. some of them are signed w/ Mexico and some are not. These were also made for kitchen use in Mexico - not just for tourists. It's borderline Fantasia, in my opinion. Fantasia is usually more decorated w/ lots more animals on it. The poinsettia is interesting. I think it dates to 1940s/50s or maybe earlier. This is production utility ware. The roughness is part of the charm of these Mexican pieces. It's folk art too.

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