Tonaltepec Plate

The community of Santo Domingo Tonaltepec in Oaxaca is still producing its pottery in the same way as in the pre-Hispanic period. The importance of the artifact in a community like Santo Domingo Tonaltepec is that it is part of the social life, it plays an important role in the social fabric that the community belongs to.

In three of the villages of this community the pigments used for the clay come from the bark of certain trees, very rich in tannins. In Río Blanco Tonaltepec, they use oak bark to produce a pigment that is then poured drop by drop over the clay pot or jar while it is still hot from the oven. The liquid crackles by the evaporation of the water over the hot clay surface, and only the red russet color of the tannins remains and creates this incredible beauty.