Green glazed pottery of Atzompa

Green glazed pottery of Atzompa is a style of glazed pottery, which originates in the Oaxaca, Mexico town of Santa María Atzompa. Almost all of the pottery made here is of a jade-green color, due to the lead monoxide glaze which has been traditionally applied to it.

Atzompa’s pottery history extends to the 7th to 9th century, when the town was established as a satellite to the large Monte Albán Zapotec city. Pottery from this period is of the barro negro type found in other communities of the area, but artifacts from this era show more diverse shapes, including jaguar heads. The glazing process was introduced by the Spanish in the 16th century, and the techniques from that time have changed little since.

By the mid 20th century, the green glazed pottery of the town was shipped to all parts of Mexico and exported to the United States, but concerns about lead in Mexican pottery deflated the market. Most people in the town now make a subsistence living selling their wares locally.

There have been some innovations from the 1990s to help bring back the market for the green pottery, including the introduction of lead-free glazes, a communal pottery market in Atzompa and the recognition of the innovations of a potter named Dolores Porras, who has introduced other colors and promoted the use of non-lead glazes.

The town of Santa María Atzompa has been making pottery since the Monte Alban period of Oaxaca’s history, when the town was established as a satellite community between the 7th and 9th centuries. Objects found at the town’s archeological site show that the local pottery was of the barro negro type found in other communities in the region. However, the ancient pottery found here shows a wider variety of shapes, including jaguar heads, and eagle claws. After the Spanish conquest, lead glazing techniques were introduced here by cleric Alonso Figueroa and have been practiced here with little change since that time, with green becoming the preferred color.

By the mid 20th century, Atzompa had become the main producer of ceramics for the Oaxaca valley region, with its products shipped to all parts of Mexico and exported to the United States. However, concerns about the lead content in the glaze pummeled the Mexican pottery market. Today, most of the community’s distinctive green-glazed pottery is sold in neighboring Oaxaca city, with most families here making a subsistence living through that and by growing corn.

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Wikipedia