Doña Rosa was a famous Mexican potter born in the 1900's in the state of Oaxaca. Her work was recognized with medals and diplomas and was appreciated by many collectors  Her work using quartz on the surface of the clay items, resulted in a  brilliant and intense black pottery.  She was the first potter to use this technique. 

Her family still resides in the state of Oaxaca which is renowned for its conservation of prehispanic pottery techniques. The families there carry on the traditional techniques which are passed down through the generations.  When Dona Rosa passed away in 1980 she left her son and grandchildren trained in her techniques so that her pottery could continue to be made through the generations of her family. 

The artisan process to make each piece takes approximately 20 to 30 days.  It begins with raw clay collected from Cerro del Coyote.  The process of turning the raw clay into a prepared clay ready for building is the same as it was in the early 1900's and is one of the secrets to the success of this pottery. All of the pieces are hand shaped by using two gray ceramic saucers placed back to back not a potters wheel.  This method is another part of the prehispanic technique.

Each of the hand-built vessels are then decorated in one or more of five ways:

    Engraving (with the use of a bamboo tool)

    Cut-outs (made with a knife),

    “Pastillaje” (clay added to the surface to create relief)

    Superimposed pieces of metal 

    Color paints

Once it is decorated it rests in slow drying rooms before polishing with Quartz prior to the kiln firing.  The richness of the black color depends on the baking time and requires expert knowledge and a masters ability to produce the brilliant blacks as opposed to dull greys.

The clay in each piece is completely free of lead and is non- toxic. This type of pottery is for decorative use only. All of our pieces are authenticated by the signature of Alfareria Doña Rosa which is Dona Rosa's son.