Weight - 1 pound
Width - 5.25 inches
Height - 7 inches
The Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead ) is celebrated throughout Mexico. November 1st is a wonderful time to visit this nation to marvel at the respect and splendor descendants show to their beloved, deceased ancestors in the community cemeteries. It is a day for the living family and friends to renew their respect and love for the deceased by gathering to pray for and remember them and participate in their spiritual pilgrimage.
Hilario Quezada Jr. is one of the masters of depictions of this holiday. He has transformed images of dead to those of living souls, where they experience everything we the living love. As with all of Artist Quezada pieces, this pottery is full of imagery. A string bass player and an accordion player and a drummer liven up the atmosphere. An couple dance with the woman in a festive dress. One man drinks a beer while another has whiskey.
The trees are bare and show it is in fact early winter, with birds flying to a fro. Every image is a parade of activity and life. And as an homage to his fellow artisans, Señor Quezada Jr. has placed the names of actual deceased residence of Mata Ortiz on the headstones. We are brought to the bonds of affection and reverence by our Latin cousins toward their deceased loved ones. As a final effect of his artistic abilities, Señor Quezada Jr. utilizes the style of sgraffito, a etching method going back thousands of years. This method demands a great commitment to time and is very difficult to achieve.
I include a pottery ring for setting this on.