Tonalá Burnished Pottery
Ceramics
by Luis Cortez
Ht. 18" x W. 13" x D. 13"
Luis Cortez, working in Tonalá, Jalisco, is one of the most skilled and celebrated artists working in Mexico, having won numerous awards for his work. He is known for imaginative innovations and exquisite craftsmanship. Tonalá has been an important center of ceramics for more than 500 years.
This jar shows a beautiful example of a “nahual,” a popular Mexican mythological creature, half human, half animal. Nahuals are shape shifters, capable of bestowing favors and also of making mischief.