page_title: Handcrafts and folk art in Chiapas
section_title: Pottery
hierarchical_section_title: Handcrafts and folk art in Chiapas / Pottery
caption_attribution_description: English: jars with wild cats on them on display at the Museo de las Culturas Populares de Chiapas in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
context_page_description: Chiapas handcrafts and folk art is most represented with the making of pottery, textiles and amber products, though other crafts such as those working with wood, leather and stone are also important. The state is one of Mexico's main handcraft producers, with most artisans being indigenous women, who dominate the production of pottery and textiles. The making of handcrafts has become economically and socially important in the state, especially since the 1980s, with the rise of the tourist market and artisans’ cooperatives and other organizations. These items generally cannot compete with commercially made goods, but rather are sold for their cultural value, primarily in San Cristóbal de las Casas.
context_section_description: The pottery produced today is not as sophisticated as that which was produced during the height of the Maya culture. The techniques used to produce it are simple, but it still has cultural and artistic value.  Potters can be found in Chiapa de Corzo, Mazapa de Madera, Amantengo del Valle, La Frontera, Tonalá, Ocuilapa, Suchiapa, and San Cristóbal de las Casas. The most common pottery items are everyday utensils such as pots, casseroles, comals, jars, cantaros, vases, candle holders, and flowerpots.
  The best known pottery work is done in Amatenango del Valle, and it has become a main source of income for most of the town's Tzeltal inhabitants. For the most part, oOnly women are potters, with girls learning the craft by about ten years of age. Men in the town do participate in the process, such as bringing the firewood used for firing pieces, but their main role is in its commercialization, which they control. One effect of this is resistance to the introduction of new technologies to the pottery making. 
  The pottery of the town is noted for its light color and is made mostly into decorative pieces. The figures that made it famous are of jaguars and doves, but others such as those of roosters, turtles, frogs, tigers and other animals as well as jars, and decorative items of the sun and moon.
  Amatenango pottery is not fired in an oven but rather over an open fire outdoors. The technique produces a light brown terra cotta. This can be left its natural color, often with sepia motifs or can be painted in various colors. These wares are mostly sold in various parts of Chiapas and some other Mexican states, with some making their way to international markets. Potters such as Juliana Lopez Perez have visited places like the United States to promote the town's wares.
caption: Pottery jars painted with jaguar motifs
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