Dona Rosa Signed Oaxacan Barro Negro Blackware Vessel San Bartolo Coyotepec

PRODUCT DETAILS

• Maker: Signed on the base Dona Rosa, S/B Coyotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

• Material: Burnished black clay, barro negro

• Dimensions: Not measured — available on request

• Colour/Finish: Deep black with a soft metallic sheen from stone burnishing, not glaze

• Condition: Very good; the burnished surface is intact with even lustre

• Era/Period: 20th century

• Other specs: Compressed globular form with a small mouth

Dona Rosa Real de Nieto of San Bartolo Coyotepec is credited with developing the burnishing technique that gives Oaxacan blackware its metallic sheen — before her, this pottery was matte grey. Pieces carrying her name are collected on that account.

SIGNATURE READ FROM THE PIECE, NOT AUTHENTICATED. The Dona Rosa name continued in use by the family workshop after her death, so the signature places the piece in that tradition rather than dating it to her hand.

The surface is the whole point — no glaze, just stone-burnished clay that catches light like graphite.