Approximate Measurements:16 Rabbits of Ortega Y Silveira
Weight - 9.5 ounces
Height - 4.5 inches
Width - 3.5 inches
A ring is provided with all my pottery.
This beautiful native gourd-sized pot is a creation of the married team of Alex Ortega Y Vivi Silveira. Their style is immediately recognizable. When using white clay to build these art forms, glaze is applied to it and etched down to the underlying white, creating wonderful sharp edges and pronounced detail, as in this piece. As with most creations coming out of Mata Ortiz, this pottery has strongly been influenced from the villagers ancient ancestors. In this instance, the influence is seen in the overlapping, scale design of the background.
Animals are a favorite theme of this married team. This pottery has rabbits, birds, a tortoise, lizards and insects! The opening has a wonderful flower which encircles it. This couple sign the all their works.
This pottery will warm your home, or be a wonderful gift for someone you know.
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Mata Ortiz is legendary, both the village and the pottery taking its name.
In the 70's a young man began experimenting with recreating ancient pottery he would come across. He used the same clay sand mixtures from materials found in the area in which the ancients lived and made their pottery. The same firing techniques using the same local materials eventually created the same magnificent results. Half a century later and much of the village of Mata Ortiz has taken on these incredible skills for creating masterpieces, with each artist contributing hers and his own sense of beauty.
The designs are bold, earthy and individualistic.
Paint brushes consisting of one or two human hairs create the finest lines. Images revealed through carvings are created by nearly microscopic sharpened points. Paints are developed from minerals found in the surrounding desert. Many colors are only revealed after intense firing at very high temperatures. These creations are truly unique transformations that only this small little region of the world can create from it's own soil.
I have been tangentially around Mata Ortiz for 30 years. Now I am spiritually bound by their overwhelming beauty and intense and intricate designs. When I look at one of the pieces, I feel I am meeting in person the artists who created this, and am visiting their home.