indigenous pottery

Traditionally used to drink alcoholic drinks, such as chicha, a type of corn beer, this decorative kero vase from Peru evokes the culture of the ancient Inca. The Huaman Paucar Family craft the simple, trumpeting vase of ceramic, featuring intricate hand-painted geometric designs characteristic of the era.

A condor spreads protective wings over the Holy Family in a Peruvian figurine. The Andean bird is revered in South America and the Inca considered it a guide. Guillermo and Eduardo celebrate Christmas with this charming one-piece ceramic nativity scene. "Both the birth of Jesus and the condor symbolize majesty and love," the artisans confide.

Emotive Andean designs sweep across this vase in precise bands of varied colors, the resulting effect an intoxicating expression of Peruvian artistry. The Huaman Paucar family crafts the piece entirely by hand, beginning with the potter’s wheel and culminating with extraordinarily painted details. Geometric figures dominate the perfect glaze, while scrolls and proud llama silhouettes make sparse appearances. Shaped from local clay, the work offers ceramic drama to any décor. Pisac is a town in the state of Cuzco.

As each piece is crafted individually, the product received may vary slightly in its color and design.

Used for religious rituals and ceremonies, vases like this represented the high watermark of ancient Incan pottery. The Huaman Paucar Family of Peru design the decorative vase, crafting it of ceramic with intricate hand-painted geometric motifs.

An admirable hand painted pendant in copper and black tones hangs from nylon cord in this necklace designed by Peru's Dina. Artisan crafted, the ring-shaped ceramic pendant has a design reminiscent of the geometric motifs found on Incan textiles and pottery. A finishing touch is provided by the copper and black striped bead at the top of the necklace.

What ancient wisdom does this little man have to share? Handcrafted by Chorotega pottery artisan Elpidio Chavarría of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, this ceramic statuette of a seated man with headdress and glasses is the natural sand color of the clay with details painted in dark orange and brown.

Chorotega pottery is completely handmade with traditional techniques passed down through the generations for 3,000 years, and one of the last surviving cultural elements of the Chorotega people indigenous to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region and Nicoya Peninsula. Chorotega pottery is made from local clay mixed with a very fine freshwater sand. The artisans shape the clay on hand-operated pottery wheels and hand-polish the art piece to give it a smooth texture and luster. Designs are etched by hand and the pieces are painted with natural pigments made from pulverized local colored rocks mixed with water, then fired in traditional wood-burning brick kilns. The result is a beautiful, earthen pottery unique to this region.

This elegant angle wears green, a color thought to represent hope and new life. Molded and painted by hand, the heavenly messenger features colonial-era style wings and a gown motif of interlocked circles. Believing God set her on this path, artist Arlen Estrada has dedicated herself to creating ceramic pieces that take their inspiration from Nicaragua's past, both colonial and indigenous.

Luis Alberto Gutiérrez pays tribute to his country's pre-Columbian heritage with this striking ceramic sculpture painted with a terracotta color created using pulverized stone. Long-tailed lizards appear to crawl up each of the handmade sculpture's three slender legs, while two rings of dots adorn the base of the vessel's long neck. The tripod's design is influenced by similar ceramic objects crafted by Costa Rica's indigenous peoples many centuries ago. "These are the vessels our ancestors used in funeral rituals, where they deposited the funeral remains together with other ceramic pieces and metals; these pieces carry with them a great deal of history and they comprise many years of antiquity," explains the artisan.