Gorgeous pottery vase by famous Mexican artist, Enrique Pedregon Ortiz, one of the top pottery artists of the famous Mata Ortiz village, which is located in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Casas Grandes (Paquime) is a prehistoric archeological ruin near Chihuahua, Mexico. In the 1970's, Juan Quezada began reproducing pottery in the authentic traditions of Casas Grandes. He trained people in his home village of Mata Ortiz, and many now follow his path and earn a living from this pottery.

The pots are formed only by the potter's hands with no pottery wheels being used. The clay is obtained nearby using pick-axes and shovels. The paints are natural, made from clay or from crushed minerals such as manganese, also mined locally. The pottery is dung-fired on the ground, not in a kiln. Lastly, each piece is signed by the artist.

Casas Grandes (Mata Ortiz) pottery began as a revival of ancient traditions, but has developed a distinctive artistic style all it's own.

Mata Ortiz potters generally work in their homes, with bedrooms often doubling as studios.The work space generally consists of a table and simple tools such as a hacksaw blade, a butter knife, spoons, sandpaper, a small stone and paintbrushes generally made from hair, sometimes just four or five strands tied on a stick.

The shaping of the clay is relatively faithful to the original Paquimé techniques, but each potter has their own variation in how they make their pots. Most are based on the single-coil method, using the gray, yellow, orange, red and white clays from the area.

The walls are then scraped smooth and thin (for finer vessels) with a hacksaw blade, a process called segueteando. If there is to be a lip, an extra coil is added and integrated.

The pot is then set aside and once dry, sanded smooth using a stone or deer bone with vegetable oil as lubricant. (from Wikipedia)

• Made using the hand coil method

• Highly collectible and sought after pottery and artist

• Exquisite hand-painted, intricate geometric design

• No cracks or repairs, small chip on lip, scuffing on bottom

• Signed Enrique Pedregon Ortiz

• Approx. 5.5” x 5.5”