Black and white photograph

Museum number:

13-6726

Permalink:

ark:/21549/hm21130006726

Alternate number:

13-5861

Accession number:

Acc.4724

Description:

black and white photographic print; matted "Natividad Pena and Vicente Rendon polishing dried pots; January, 1945" [matted at PAHMA for exhibition]

Donor:

George M. Foster

Collection place:

Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, Mexico

Verbatim coll. place:

Mexico, Michoacan, Tzintzuntzan

Collector:

George M. Foster

Collection date:

January 1945

Materials:

Paper (fiber product)

Object type:

ethnography

Object class:

Black-and-white prints (photographs)

Accession date:

October 11, 2001

Department:

Still and motion photography

Dimensions:

photo— height 35.4 centimeters, photo— width 27.9 centimeters, matted— width 40.7 centimeters, and matted— height 50.9 centimeters

Comment:

Yesterday [Vicente and Nati] made a number of large de a medio ollas [large wide-mouthed pots]. Today these must be polished and the handles added. The pot is placed in a ring made of tule reeds of the type known as chuspata . . . and covered with the remains of an old felt hat. With a short knife hafted to a corncob handle Nati trims the ragged bits of clay which project at the point of contact of the halves of the mold, and also trims the neck a little to improve the contour. Then she takes a handful of very damp and pliable paste, gives it a last minute dousing in a small water-filled dish, and goes over the entire surface of the pot, filling any cracks and imperfections that may have resulted. Next a polishing stone of janamo, a coarse volcanic rock, is dipped in water and rubbed over the outside to level any ridges and give a smooth surface. And finally, with a wet rag, the same process is repeated, to give the final finish (1948).