{"product_id":"hand-painted-mexican-pottery-teapot-grisaille-view-of-the-puente-de-tepetapa-lettered-by-the-painter-black-glaze-with-scalloped-rim-and-foot-guanajuato-mid-20th-century","title":"Hand-Painted Mexican Pottery Teapot, Grisaille View of the Puente de Tepetapa Lettered by the Painter, Black Glaze with Scalloped Rim and Foot, Guanajuato, Mid-20th Century","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA pottery teapot painted by hand with a named view of a real bridge, and lettered underneath so you know which one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe body is glazed \u003cstrong\u003edeep black\u003c\/strong\u003e over the neck, the handle, the high swan-neck spout and the foot, with a \u003cstrong\u003escalloped rim\u003c\/strong\u003e and a matching \u003cstrong\u003escalloped foot\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eSet into the black, a \u003cstrong\u003egrisaille panel\u003c\/strong\u003e — a landscape painted in black and grey washes on white. An \u003cstrong\u003earched masonry span\u003c\/strong\u003e crosses the centre with buildings stacked above it and trees breaking the right-hand edge. The brushwork is loose, fast and confident, laid down wet with a full brush.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eBeneath the scene, in the painter’s own hand: \u003cstrong\u003eP. de Tepetapa, Gto.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThat lettering is a caption, and it names a real place.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eGto.\u003c\/em\u003e is the standard abbreviation for the Mexican state of \u003cstrong\u003eGuanajuato\u003c\/strong\u003e — the same convention as writing Reno, NV. And the \u003cstrong\u003ePuente de Tepetapa\u003c\/strong\u003e is a documented colonial bridge in Guanajuato city, written up in the Mexican press as an icon of the capital and carrying its own historical marker.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSo the painter did not decorate this pot. They recorded a view and signed the location.\u003c\/strong\u003e That is a different and better thing, and it is what separates a piece like this from generic tourist ware painted with an imaginary village.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGuanajuato is one of Mexico’s great ceramic states.\u003c\/strong\u003e Dolores Hidalgo has produced talavera and majolica by the town-full for generations, and Guanajuato city is home to named workshops whose work is collected internationally. Painted pottery carrying a lettered local landmark belongs to that tradition — made for people who had been to the place and wanted the place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrisaille is a deliberate choice and a demanding one.\u003c\/strong\u003e Painting a landscape in a single colour means the entire picture — distance, mass, light — has to be carried by value alone, with no colour to help. Set against a black ground it reads almost as an engraving, which is exactly the effect a nineteenth-century print of the same bridge would have had.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe pot carries \u003cstrong\u003eno maker’s mark or workshop signature\u003c\/strong\u003e beyond the painted caption, and is offered \u003cstrong\u003eunattributed\u003c\/strong\u003e. Dated on the glaze, the form and the hand-painted decoration: \u003cstrong\u003emid-20th century\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand-painted glazed pottery teapot\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 8 in tall by 7 in across the handle\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBellied body with a high swan-neck spout and C-scroll handle, scalloped rim and scalloped foot\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDeep black glaze to the neck, handle, spout and foot; hand-painted grisaille landscape panel in black and grey on white, depicting an arched masonry bridge with buildings and trees\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eInscription\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLettered by the painter beneath the scene: \u003cem\u003eP. de Tepetapa, Gto.\u003c\/em\u003e — the Puente de Tepetapa, Guanajuato\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNo maker’s mark or workshop signature. Offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMid-20th century, on the glaze, form and hand-painted decoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGood and sound. The pot stands level, the handle and spout are firmly attached, and the scalloped rim and foot are complete. The black glaze is glossy and even, and the painted panel is crisp and unfaded with the lettering fully legible. No chips, no cracks, no repairs and no restoration. Sold as a decorative piece. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eBlack and white is the easiest thing you can put in a room, and almost nobody does it in pottery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA glossy black pot with a grey-and-white picture set into it goes anywhere — against colour, against wood, against white paint, on a shelf of mismatched things — because it introduces no colour of its own to argue with. It behaves like a piece of graphic art that happens to be three-dimensional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe silhouette carries from a distance. A high swan-neck spout and a scrolled handle read as a shape long before the painting is legible, which is what you want from an object on a high shelf or the far end of a counter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThen it rewards the approach. Close up there is a bridge, a hillside of buildings, trees, and a line of handwriting telling you where you are. Almost no decorative pottery tells you anything; this one names a specific place a specific painter chose to record.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIt works as a vase for something short and full — ranunculus, anemones, a handful of garden roses — and it works better empty, where the painted panel is not competing with anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eFor anyone with a connection to Mexico, or to Guanajuato in particular, it is a considerably better object than a souvenir. It is a view of a named bridge, painted and captioned by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA note on care. \u003cstrong\u003eHand wash only, warm water, dry it straight away.\u003c\/strong\u003e No dishwasher — detergent and heat dull a glossy glaze and will attack painted decoration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvoid sudden temperature change.\u003c\/strong\u003e Do not pour boiling water into a cold pot. Earthenware bodies are more sensitive to thermal shock than porcelain and this one has a spout and handle to lose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eUse a liner if you arrange fresh flowers in it, and empty it afterwards. Standing water in a glazed earthenware body finds its way through any unglazed seam and leaves a stain you cannot reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eNever use abrasives on the painted panel. Grisaille washes are thin by definition, and the greys are the first thing to go.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48047805300841,"sku":"VE-0767","price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/165C134E-F797-4A33-BA03-651E46EE288C.jpg?v=1789319970","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/hand-painted-mexican-pottery-teapot-grisaille-view-of-the-puente-de-tepetapa-lettered-by-the-painter-black-glaze-with-scalloped-rim-and-foot-guanajuato-mid-20th-century","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}