About Mexican Talavera Pottery

The art of creating Mexican Talavera or Majolica Pottery has descended from its early origins thought to be Mesopotamia and Egypt. It was introduced to Spain by the 13th Century, where it was influenced by Moorish domination and became known as Majolica.

The Talavera creation process involves the blending of two types of clay which are soaked in water to improve the consistency and malleability. When ready, the water is drained off the clay blend and it is filtered to remove all impurities. The clay is worked until all air bubbles have been removed and the consistency is correct.

The artisans then produce a variety of pieces on the potter’s wheel or in molds which are then left to dry for eight to twelve weeks. The dried clay pieces are then baked in an oven at over 800C. The fabrication process then continues by carefully dipping each piece of Majolica in a glaze which results in the rich foundation color. Then each piece is hand decorated using colors derived from processing various mineral pigments. The hand decorated pieces are fired a final time for many hours at over 1000C, resulting in the completed beautiful work of Mexican pottery.