An old pottery tradition has existed in Cholula since time immemorial. The inhabitants of Cholula during the classical period (200-700 A.D.) used their own style to develop a thin burnished earthenware. They took advantage of the natural conditions of their environment which gave them ready access to high quality clay. Runoff from volcanoes formed a clay that combines clay with ash, which made it a very malleable material. The materials carried by this thaw allowed the formation of clay deposits of excellent quality in the valleys for the pottery industry.
The historical processes also explain the particular development that occurred from a technological innovation, apparently introduced by people from the Mayan tradition to the valley region of Puebla-Tlaxcala. Several stages in pottery production were followed to produce a vessel like this; the result of centuries of experimentation in order to leave a series of messages embodied for all posterity. Because of its lustrous appearance, these types of vessels are known as Polychrome lacquer ceramics.
They were made using a technological innovation that took place in the valley of Puebla Tlaxcala at the end of the ninth century and early tenth century of our era. This innovation was to paint the pots before firing, achieving an effect of irreversible molecular fusion that made it virtually impossible to separate the color from the surface. This technological advance was so successful that Cholula became the most important pottery center of the Highlands.
Skulls are a recurring motif in these types of vessels from the time the Toltec-Chichimec ideology was established in the valley region of Puebla-Tlaxcala after the fall of Tula. The worldview of these Nahua groups is manifested in various motifs related to the cult of death, sacrifice and war. The type of conventions, colors and painting techniques used point to these types of vessels belonging to a stylistic and iconographic tradition known as Mixteca-Puebla. They are also know as Codex style vessels, for their resemblance to these, which are part of this great artistic tradition that developed in the Late Post-Classic (1250-1521 A.D.).
Among one of the most persistent conventions is the representation of bones. If we observe the lower jaw of the skull we see a white/cream background produced by the engobe, a layer of white clay which, after burnishing, creates a smooth and impermeable surface. Above this layer we can see small circles, orange or white with a delicate red outline, and flecks of the same color. It is a simplified representation of bones seen from the inside, alluding to the marrow and its porous appearance when they are cut in cross section.
An old pottery tradition has existed in Cholula since time immemorial. The inhabitants of Cholula during the classical period (200-700 A.D.) used their own style to develop a thin burnished earthenware. They took advantage of the natural conditions of their environment which gave them ready access to high quality clay. Runoff from volcanoes formed a clay that combines clay with ash, which made it a very malleable material. The materials carried by this thaw allowed the formation of clay deposits of excellent quality in the valleys for the pottery industry.
