The History of Talavera

Talavera pottery has its roots in the Arab-Andalusian culture of Spain. About eight centuries ago, Arab potters settled in the place now known as Talavera de la Reina and established and developed the techniques used to create the earthenware known as Majolica.

The word Majolica originated in Italy and refers to a process Italian potters used in the fourteenth century. The technique consisted primarily of applying pigments to raw or unfired glaze.

Majolica was introduced to Mexico in the sixteenth century. According to the most accepted theory, Spanish monks brought craftsmen from Talavera de la Reina to teach native artisans in the Puebla region how to work the clay. The monks wanted to decorate monasteries and churches with tiles and religious figures.

Pre-Hispanic cultures in Mexico already had highly skilled native potters who produced earthenware for daily, cultural and religious use. They did not use the potter’s wheel or tin-glaze their pottery. The beautiful glaze work is a defining characteristic of Majolica ceramics.

Mexican craftsmen blended the Majolica process with their own knowledge of regional clays and incorporated their art forms and colors. Their work became known as Talavera.

Official Puebla Talavera

Talavera ceramics are made in several parts of Mexico, but official Talavera is produced in Puebla. Talavera from designated Puebla workshops is officially recognized and protected by the Government of Mexico. These manufacturers must follow a complex and strictly controlled fabrication process dating from the sixteenth century and use clay from approved sites in the Puebla area.

Because the mineral pigments required to produce blue were expensive, that color was once reserved for the finest ceramics. Buyers could distinguish fine ceramic from work of lesser quality. During the eighteenth century, artisans expanded their designs with green, mauve and yellow in addition to the blue tones popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Thanks to the artisans’ skill and the quality of Puebla clay, Talavera achieved exceptional beauty. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wealthy Mexican families commonly maintained extensive collections of Talavera dinner sets and decorations. It has since been treasured by collectors and admirers throughout Mexico and around the world.