Talavera poblana
Puebla, Mexico
Vase Depicting a Phoenixlike Bird
INV-1043
Talavera poblana
Puebla, Mexico1700–50
Vase Depicting a Phoenixlike Bird
Talavera poblana Puebla, Mexico →spanish colonialeuropeanArts of the Americasearthenwareeuropean decorative arts
Date
1700–50
Medium
Tin-glazed earthenware
Dimensions
H.: 49 cm (19 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Eva Lewis in memory of her husband, Herbert Pickering Lewis
Chinese blue-and-white porcelain arrived in the Americas during the 1570s, when the Manila Galleons began crossing the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Spanish Philippines and back. Cargoes of Asian luxury goods landing at Acapulco were transshipped to Colonial Mexico City and Puebla, where they remained until shipment continued across the Atlantic Ocean to Seville. A thriving ceramic industry developed in Puebla, producing glazed earthenware imitating porcelain and freely adapting Chinese designs, often with humorous vitality. This vase of Chinese shape displays panels with phoenix-like birds framed by dot-and-leaf patterns, scrolled tendrils, and semicircular “Chinese asters” beneath a cloudlike canopy. Floral bands on the shoulder and footing of the jar similarly reflect decorations derived from blue-and-white export porcelain.
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