Type Name:

MEXICAN RED PAINTED

Category:

UNGLAZED COARSE EARTHENWARE

Production Origin:

MEXICO

Production Date Range:

1550-1750

Defining Attributes:

Buff or reddish sand-tempered paste.

Thin, wheel thrown vessels.

Smoothed surface covered with red pigment burnishing or painting.

Molded and relief designs are sometimes present.

Vessel Forms:

BOWL
JAR
PLATO
SAUCER

Comments:

Mexican Red Painted Ware’s name derives from the original type definition by Hale Smith, who named it because it appears similar to Aztec redwares. Unglazed, wheel-thrown, red painted or red burnished earthenware vessels, however, were probably made in a variety of American ceramic production centers, including Mexico.

Published Definitions:

Smith 1949; Deagan 2002:43-44