Mexican lacquerware
In the pre-colonial period, a greasy substance from the aje larvae and/or oil from the chia seed were mixed with powdered minerals to create protective coatings and decorative designs.After the Conquest, the Spanish had indigenous craftsmen apply the technique to European style furniture and other items, changing the decorative motifs and color schemes, but the process and materials remained mostly the same.[1] The Mexican state of Guerrero is located to the southwest of Mexico City and is home to three towns that make lacquered products, Olinalá, Temalacatzingo and Acapetlahuaya.[3] Lacquerware from the state includes utensils, gourds, chests and other furniture, storage boxes, toy cars and helicopters, trays and even musical instruments.[2] Guerrero lacquerware from Olinalá and to some extent Temalacatzingo became popularized in the 1970s, and its success has allowed many migrant workers to return home to the town, but there are still high rates of migration out, especially young people, to Mexico City and the United States.[6] The craft is the main source of income for the town, producing chests, trays, platters, boxes, paneled screens[6] and furniture (usually done on commission).A second coat is applied and while still wet, this layer is removed in places to reveal the first color and create abstract designs and figures such as animal and humans.[2][4] This work traces back to at least the 18th century, and while may include motifs such as patriotic symbols, most are not Mexican, but instead stylized flowers, European landscapes and images from Asia.[4] Most Olinalá artisans begin as children, learning to blend colors and adding dot patterns, then moving up to creating figures and more complicated designs.[7] One distinctive element of Michoacán traditional lacquerware is the use of “aje,” the larvae of the (coccus axin) insect, from which a waxy substance is extracted.Like contemporary Vasco de Quiroga in nearby Pátzcuaro, he worked to protect the local indigenous and organized handcraft production, the origin of this specialization.[9] Today, the city still makes the most intricate of designs, and still uses gold leaf in some of its production, which varies widely from trays, to plates to utensils and decorative items.[4][6] In the past, lacquer makers also created the wood objects, but with the introduction of power woodworking tools, this aspect has been outsourced to local carpenters who can make them cheaper.[23][27] Traditional lacquer is made with aje and/or oils mentioned above, mixed with a mineral called dolomite, creating a white or sometimes light yellow base.[6] Since the early 20th century there has been a change in the materials used, substituting plaster for dolomite, linseed oil and even car wax for chia or aje and commercial pigments for natural ones.[36] Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, lacquering was known in all of Mesoamerica from central Mexico into Guatemala,[2] with the use of aje grease documented in areas such as modern Oaxaca, Veracruz, Yucatán, Chiapas, Guerrero and Michoacán.[37] However, most of what is known of the period is from early colonial texts of chronicler such as Bernardino de Sahagún and Francisco Ximénez describing the lacquered objects they came in contact with.[2][39] Today these lacquered jícaras (from Nahuatl xicalli) are still popular, either whole as a decorative object or split to create a bowl for eating or drinking.[44] Many of these objects traveled through Michoacán from the port of Acapulco on their way to Mexico City, passing through the lacquer center of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro, because of the road system and internal customs checkpoints.[38][46] There was also a fourth, Peribán, but it has since disappeared, leaving behind only the name of a style of large, deep lacquered tray called a peribana in the state.[35] During the colonial period, Uruapan became the most important lacquerware center, producing the best pieces including those with gold leaf and other precious and semi-precious inlays.The influence of Romanticism led to the use of paler tones with a wider variety of colors including white, yellow and pink backgrounds.[52][53] The work done in Uruapan was chosen, but the pieces that were created for the exhibition were not of traditional designs, which were considered primitive, especially native Purépecha elements and color combinations.[2] The Mexican government established the National Fund for the Development of Arts and Crafts (FONART) during this decade as well, and Olinalá wares were chosen for promotion, in part because they are lightweight and easy to transport.[18] While artisans using traditional methods and materials still exist, plaster has been substituted for dolomite, linseed oil and even car wax for chia or aje and commercial pigments for natural ones.[4] Noted artisans include Francisco Coronel, who won the National Arts and Sciences Award in 2007 along with Mario Agustín Gaspar and Martina Navarro from Michoacan.
pre-colonial periodConquestOlinaláAcapetlahuayaGuerreroUruapanPátzcuaroMichoacánChiapa de CorzoChiapasOlinalá (craftwork)Mexico CitySierra Madre del SurTepalcingoMorelosSan Juan Market in Mexico CityCarlos Espejelgold leafMario Agustín GasparQuirogalinseedVasco de QuirogaManila tradeLagenariaCrescentiaBurseraceaedolomitemaki-eGuatemalaOaxacaVeracruzYucatánBernardino de SahagúnNahuatlfretworkAcapulcofolding screensBaroqueDon QuixoteMexican War of Independence1904 Saint Louis World's FairPurépechaArt NouveauMexican RevolutionNational Fund for the Development of Arts and CraftsCiudadela MarketSan ÁngelCoyoacánNational Arts and Sciences AwardMuseo de la Laca in Chiapa de CorzoMexican handcrafts and folk artMexican ceramicsCeramics of JaliscoPottery of MetepecSoteno familyBarro negro potteryBlanco family (Oaxaca)Green glazed pottery of AtzompaMata Ortiz potteryTalavera potteryTree of LifeAmuzgo textilesBasketry of MexicoHuipilMexican rag dollPetateQuechquemitlRebozoTenango embroideryTextiles of MexicoTextiles of OaxacaCartoneríaLupita dollsMiss Lupita projectPiñataOcotlán de MorelosSan Bartolo CoyotepecSan Martín TilcajeteSan PablitoSanta Clara del CobrePunzo familySanta María AtzompaSanto Tomás JaliezaTemoayaTenancingo, State of MexicoTeotitlán del ValleTlalpujahuaTlaquepaqueTonalá, JaliscoAlfeñique fairFeria Maestros del ArteMexico City Alebrije ParadeMuseo de Arte PopularMuseo de la Laca and the Santo Domingo monasteryMuseo de Trajes RegionalesMuseo Estatal de Arte Popular de OaxacaMuseo Nacional de la MáscaraMuseo Regional de la Ceramica, TlaquepaqueMuseo Universitario de Artes Populares María Teresa PomarNational Museum of Mexican ArtNational Pyrotechnic FestivalPalm Sunday Handcraft MarketList of Mexican artisansGuanajuatoHidalgoJaliscoPueblaState of MexicoTlaxcalaAlebrijeAlfeñique in MexicoHuichol artMexican featherworkMexican handcrafted fireworksMexican ironwood carvingsMexican mask-folk artMexican pointy bootsPiteadoPopotillo artSawdust carpetTraditional copper work in MexicoTraditional metal working in MexicoTraditional Mexican handcrafted toysVocholVotive paintings of MexicoMaría Teresa Pomar