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Mata Ortiz pottery is a recreation of the pre Hispanic pottery found in and around the archeological site of Paquimé in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is named after the modern town of Mata Ortiz, which is near the site and where a man named Juan Quezada Celado learned on his own to recreate this ancient pottery, then went on to update it. By the mid 1970s, Quezada was selling his pottery and teaching family and friends to make it when it was able to penetrate the U.S. markets thanks to efforts by Spencer MacCallum and later Walt Parks along with Mexican traders. By the 1990s, the pottery was being shown in museums and other cultural institutions and sold in fine galleries. The success of the pottery, which is sold for its aesthetic rather than its utilitarian value, has brought the town of Mata Ortiz out of poverty, with most of its population earning income from the industry, directly or indirectly. ==The town== Mata Ortiz is located the Mexican state of Chihuahua about 4.5 hours south and west of El Paso, Texas . It is a small town with adobe dwellings at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental, along the banks of the Palanganas River. The town was originally established as “Pearson” during the Porfirio Díaz presidency in the late 19th century with its economy based on agriculture, timber, cattle and the nearby railroad. After the Mexican Revolution the town’s name was changed, to honor Juan Mata Ortiz, a local hero who fought against the Apaches in the 19th century. After the Revolution was in influx of people and land was redistributed under the ejido system, but many residents still relied on seasonal labor and work with the railroad to get by. Rail work ended in the 1960s when the repair yard was relocated to Nuevo Casas Grandes, leading to the town’s decline, which continued until the 1980s.〔 The making of pottery in the town began in the 1980s, and now about 300 of the 2,000 inhabitants in the town make a living from making ceramics, with about two-thirds of the population having employment indirectly related to the craft, either providing fuel for kilns or offering guest rooms to traders and tourists.〔 The handicraft has raised living standards considerably in the municipality from the poverty of the early 1980s.〔 Before ceramics, there was only seasonal agricultural jobs for men and for women there was nothing. Pottery has allowed residents to provide things like electricity, plumbing, vehicles and more to families.〔 The movement to create the pottery has included women as well as men since its beginning, and today women of all talent and expertise levels are found in the town.〔 The town is known for its ceramics which are a revival of the Paquimé tradition, conserving much of its style, decoration and color.〔 The air is often filled with gray tendrils of smoke from the many kilns.〔 The town has hosted a ceramics competition called the Concurso de Cerámica since 2008, not supported by FONART, and is a major handcrafts event in Mexico.〔 Other support for artisans comes from other federal and state agency for supplies and training.〔 Despite Mata Ortiz’s success the creation of pottery has not spread to surrounding towns.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mata Ortiz pottery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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