Signed Isidro Ortiz Mata Ortiz Pottery Vase, Mexican Folk Art Polychrome Vessel

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A striking hand-coiled Mata Ortiz pottery vessel, signed by potter Isidro Ortiz, sourced from West Southwest, a specialty Native American … Read more A striking hand-coiled Mata Ortiz pottery vessel, signed by potter Isidro Ortiz, sourced from West Southwest, a specialty Native American and folk art gallery in Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood.

Mata Ortiz pottery is one of the most celebrated ceramic revivals of the 20th century — a tradition sparked in the 1970s when self-taught potter Juan Quezada rediscovered the ancient painted pottery techniques of the pre-Columbian Casas Grandes (Paquimé) culture in Chihuahua, Mexico, and built an entirely new artistic movement from it, now taught village-wide and represented in institutions including the Smithsonian.

Isidro Ortiz is a recognized name within this tradition, celebrated for his skill with both blackware and intricate polychrome work drawing on ancient Paquimé and Mimbres geometric symbolism — recognized enough to be profiled in Susan Lowell's book "The Many Faces of Mata Ortiz." This piece showcases his hand at its most detailed: dense, precise geometric fields in red, black, cream, blue, and green, including a remarkable fine cross-hatched panel, all hand-painted with brushes as fine as a single hair, then burnished by hand before pit-firing — no wheel, no glaze, no shortcuts.

A striking sculptural accent for a console, bookshelf, or curated vignette — equally at home in a Southwestern interior or layered into an eclectic global mix.

Dimensions: 3"W x 3.5"H, 9 oz
Condition: Excellent, no chips, cracks, or repairs
Provenance: West Southwest, Cherry Creek, Denver, CO See less