Uriarte Talavera De Puebla ∼ Majolica ∼ Arte Mexico Museo

Talavera came to the New World from Spain. For the purpose of my collection, my comments in this section, and throughout this web site, will be limited to Talavera from Mexico.

Uriarte Talavera began in Puebla, Mexico (1824) nearly 200 years ago. One of the oldest potteries existing in Mexico, it was founded by the Uriarte family to produce authentic Talavera, or majolica, as was being made in Talavera de la Reina near Toledo and other cities in Spain at the time. Scholars believe Spanish Talavera evolved from Italian Renaissance Talavera, absorbing Arab, Spanish, and Chinese influences over time. After the Spanish Conquest, the production of Talavera was overseen with strict guild standards drafted by the Spaniards (Ordinances of the Potters’ Guild, 1653.)

The Uriarte family preserved the historic traditions in making its Talavera, and operated within those same technical parameters, until the end of its ownership. In about 2000, the company was purchased from the family. Since about 1999 Uriarte has been recognized, through a certification process, by the Mexican national government as being authentic producers of the revered art of Talavera. Today Uriarte Talavera is prized for still using 16th century methods and materials. Each piece is hand-thrown, and hand-decorated by artisans using natural plant-based and mineral-based pigments as they were made originally. Beloved traditional colors and designs are still produced, including the elaborate, geometrically-styled florals as in the example pictured on the About My Collection page above.

Also popular in recent decades are special contemporary designs and shapes that retain typically Talavera characteristics, but have been created with newly-imagined decoration in collaboration with independent artists like Marcela Lobo (see page above). Uriarte also makes special pieces commemorating historically important designs or events. These are found in its Uriarte Museum Collection and are in limited editions. In these commemorative pieces, rare colors in Talavera due to scarcity of those colored natural pigments, such as pink, red, orange, and black, are sometimes featured to emphasize the unique nature of the pieces.

Uriarte ceramics are costly due to the painstaking, elaborate processes involved in their production. The special and commemorative items are made in limited quantities and are therefore, of course, even costlier. Copies and knock-offs abound, so buyers must beware if not buying directly from Uriarte, or government-authorized retailers Fonart in Mexico City.

True Talavera is quite simply too rich for many people’s pocketbooks due to its inherent quality. The raw, natural materials in the pigments and clay, the knowledge, skill and time to mine and prepare these materials, is expensive. The knowledge, skill and talent of the potters, designers, and painters, is expensive. Plus the time and labor of repetitive drying and glazing are laborious. All of this goes into each beautiful individually, hand-made, hand-decorated piece. Not to mention the high freight costs involved in properly packing and shipping the pieces, plus Customs duties at the borders, which add up to an even higher price tag if not bought directly from the maker.

I believe it is important to stress that the overwhelming majority of pottery sold as Talavera in stores, flea markets, antique malls, nurseries, and over the internet, is mass-produced cheaply for sale to unwitting customers who believe they are buying real Talavera. Authentic Talavera is rare. Only a handful of potters in Mexico are certified by the federal government as authentic producers of Talavera. Uriarte is one. The potter must meet strict materials and process quality standards in order to qualify. If not certified, the product is not authentic Talavera. Uriarte provides a certificate of authentication issued by the Mexican government for each piece purchased. Each seller of authentic Talavera should do the same.

Imitations and copies offered for sale online are rampant. Today it is routine to see potters set up shop near Puebla and declare themselves ‘renowned producers of authentic Talavera’ without adhering to the strict standards necessary for certification or accreditation by the government. By some, even the signature and Uriarte emblem are copied to appear as signed by the artist and sold on Etsy and other platforms, at extremely high price. Unethical potters marking the bottom of their pieces ‘Talavera’ or ‘Puebla, Mex.’ is intended to misrepresent and, unfortunately, is commonplace. Some attempt to skirt the certification process in their claims by proclaiming their piece for sale is ‘vintage’. Prior to 1999 the certification requirement for Talavera had not yet been officially implemented. Please don’t be fooled by the many fakes who have jumped on the band wagon over the past several years in order to command the high prices of Talavera for their relatively low-quality, inauthentic wares.

Also, one must be aware that discarded remnants unsuitable for sale at Uriarte’s standards can be bought up and sold through less reputable internet sellers who do not disclose their lower quality.

Many people assume, as I once did before I lived there, that products made in Mexico, and that life in Mexico, are less expensive than in the U.S. This is a misconception. Whereas some local goods in Mexico, such as milk and tortillas, are government-subsidized and therefore more affordable for most people, the other costs of goods, services, rents, and of life generally, are proportionally equally expensive. As in Europe, sales taxes on goods and services (called IVA), upwards of 15 percent, are built into the cost of the items sold, not tacked on, therefore the percentage of tax paid is concealed from consumers. Tourists may believe the items, goods, or services are not taxed. Instability in the economy creates high periodic inflation and fluctuation in the value of currency. Mexico maintains protectionist economic policies – despite the North American Free Trade Agreement – that require high import and export duties on everything shipped into, or out of, the country. It is true that the U.S. dollar retains more buying power. But for those who earn in Mexican pesos, or who live on fixed incomes, the cost of living becomes commensurate.

All of this to say: Authentic Talavera is not inexpensive, no matter where it’s purchased, even in Mexico. Cheap, mass-produced, Mexican pottery called Talavera by the seller is not really Talavera, even if it came from the region in Mexico where Talavera is made. In my admittedly puristic view, it is a deceptive trade practice to call such pottery Talavera, or to point to where it was made as a reason to refer to it so.

True Talavera is usually easily discernible to the practiced eye. However, the fakery techniques have become elevated over time, and even a seasoned collector can be fooled, especially if not buying in person. If you live outside of Mexico and want true Talavera, and you are willing to pay its hefty price, my recommendation is to buy directly from Uriarte Talavera de Puebla. I assure you, I do not represent them, I have no interest in them, or any connection with them of any kind. Their web site is easily found online, and there is only one of that name. Burying directly from Uriarte is the only sure way I know to ascertain the product you are buying is legitimate.

I offer the texts, and photos of my pieces (except in the Various Artists section), in this web site as a brief reference guide for comparison before you buy. If, after a bit of basic research, you recognize the difference and prefer the less pricey but inauthentic product, I say: Buy it and be happy. However, I hope you are not enticed by a low price to buy an imitation. I hope you are not duped by an unscrupulous seller into paying an extravagant price for a low-quality piece of pottery. Buyers beware!

May 2021

Sources:

Uriartetalavera.com.mx
The Crafts of Mexico. Smithsonian Books in Association with Artes de Mexico. U.S.: 2004
Folk Treasures of Mexico, The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection. Marion Oettinger, Jr.: New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1990
Philamuseum.org. Colonial Mexican Pottery, 1650 – 1750. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Summer 1992
Wikipedia
Personal observations and opinions formed based on my collecting experience