Mata Ortiz Pueblo Artist Jorge Ponce – Pot with Unusual Rim and Floating Triangle Pattern

 

Highly Polished Dark Terra Cotta Detailed with intricate hand-painted geometric pattern. 

 

Jorge is married to another famous local pottery artist named Elsa Ledezma.

 

Mata Ortiz is a relatively recent, but exceptional, entrant to the Southwest Indian clay pottery artisan heritage.  Dating back to the 1980s, Mata Ortiz pottery is a recreation of the Mogollon pottery found in and around the archeological site of Casas Grandes (Paquimé) in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

 

Named after the modern town of Mata Ortiz (in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico), which is near the archeological site, the style was propagated by Juan Quezada. Quezada learned on his own to recreate this ancient pottery and then went on to update it. By the mid 1970s, Quezada was selling his pottery and teaching family and friends to make it and the pottery was able to penetrate the U.S. markets.  By the 1990s, the pottery was being shown in museums and other cultural institutions and sold in fine galleries. The success of the pottery, which is sold for its aesthetic rather than its utilitarian value, has brought the town of Mata Ortiz out of poverty, with most of its population earning income from the industry, directly or indirectly.

 

3 tall x 4 ½” wide with a 1 ¾” wide opening

Incised Signature = Jorge Ponce

 

Obtained in person on one of many trips to the Southwest Indian Pueblos in the 1990s or early 2000s.  

 

We make every effort to take good pictures in good lighting.  Please review carefully for potential imperfections.  These are hand-made items.