A Mexican Folk Pottery Tradition

This full-length portrait of a major style in folk pottery was originally published in Spanish by the Instituto Nacional Indigenista in 1981. Revised and enlarged, the present volume covers a wider scope. Kaplan discusses the nature and extent of the community formed by the potters of black-on-red ware, describing and classifying the pottery and the raw materials used. She examines the technique of pottery making by focusing on the role of learning and specialization in the transmission of style. Kaplan explores the patterns of traditional pottery and looks at distribution of the ware as well as at the daily and ceremonial contexts of its use, suggesting that style in material culture is a system that embodies group identity and provides a basis for group action. The markings, the color, the sizes, the shapes - in short, the style of this black-on-red pottery - are an expression of a number of ancient themes and myths that have shaped the Indian view of life over a long period.