(2) Mata Ortiz Mexican Blackware Clay Pottery Vases. Beautiful sheen, distinct geometric patterns carved into both. Larger piece signed Roberto Bañuelos on bottom, and inscribed with price, $40.00. Smaller piece unmarked. 

Largest Size: 4 x 4 x 2 3/4 in. 

#4095 . 

Mata Ortiz is a small village in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, less than 100 miles from the US-Mexico border. Mata Ortiz is located at the base of a mountain known as El Indio and on the west bank of the Rio Palanganas, a tributary of the Rio Casas Grandes, with the ancient ruins of Casas Grandes located nearby. As of 2010, Mata Ortiz had a population of 1,182, mainly indigenous peoples. The town was originally established as “Pearson” during the Porfirio Díaz presidency in the late 19th Century, with its economy based on agriculture, timber, cattle and the nearby railroad. After the Mexican Revolution the town’s name was changed to honor Juan Mata Ortiz, a local hero who fought against the Apaches. Railroad work ended in the 1960s when the repair yard was relocated to Nuevo Casas Grandes, leading to the town’s decline through the mid 1980s. After archaic period Mogollon pottery was discovered in the archaeological excavation of Casas Grandes in 1973, a Mexican potter named Juan Quezada Celado single-handedly reverse-engineered the process to create it. He began to update it to fit with modern tastes and techniques, drawing further inspiration from pottery discovered in the ancient city of Paquimé. By the late 1970s his entire family was producing the works, and other townspeople soon got involved as well when the early pieces sold out to travelers passing through the town. Simultaneously, the author, anthropologist, and entrepreneur Spencer MacCallum discovered the pottery as well as Celado’s innovations, and worked with him to introduce it for sale on the U.S. market. By the 1990s, the pottery was being shown in museums and other cultural institutions and sold in fine galleries, dubbed “blackware,” and the town was revitalized and escaped poverty due to tourism and the booming industry. The town has hosted an annual ceramics competition called the Concurso de Cerámica since 2008, now supported by FONART, and is a major handcrafts event in Mexico. Permanent exhibitions of Mata Ortiz ware can be found at Arte Marakame, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City. The prevalence of the wares led to the discovery of surviving descendants of the style in other areas of Central America, particularly in Nicaragua and the Oaxaca valley region, and benefited their economies as well as people sought each unique variation. The best pieces now sell for thousands of dollars, although many are still priced accessibly due to their prevalence throughout North and Central America.