Chorotega ceramics

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega CeramicsChorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminum and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially preserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; The base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterized by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centers of the country.

Chorotega Ceramics

Chorotega pottery can be found in the communities of «Guaitil», «San Vicente de los Cantones de Santa Cruz» and «Nicoya in the province of Guanacaste». In this area, called the «Great Nicoya», the pottery activity has been maintained for hundreds of years. Research has estimated that this tradition is about 4,000 years old, and has managed to endure and be passed on from generation to generation. They are deeply rooted in the production of handmade pottery for cooking and storing food, where the decoration of the ceramic pieces was part of an evolution that later reached high levels of complexity and beauty in its lines.

Thanks to the high demand for utilitarian ceramics in the late 1940s and 1950s (due to the shortage of aluminium and metal utensils linked to World War II), these towns became nationally known for their jars and pots. Later, by the 1990s, with the tourist boom in the region, pottery-making became the main economic activity in these communities, carried out by both men and women.

With the passage of time, the production techniques have undergone some modifications and essentially conserve their main characteristics: clay and the so-called «iguana sand», which gives shape to the vessel, and the «curiol» natural paint that gives life and nuances to the pieces, in red, white and black (Pizarro and Marchena, 2009: 2). Various techniques can be used to lift and shape the clay; the most commonly used is the rolling of strips or coils that are incorporated into a clay base; the base can be mounted on a circular table that rotates, both with the shape that will form the bottom of the vessel.

Chorotega pottery is unique in the world and has had its own designation of origin since 2019. Three product lines or styles are identified: traditional, renewed Chorotega style and ecological style. The traditional style is characterised by utilitarian products that remained until the middle of the 20th century, associated with the domestic tasks of keeping water, cooking and serving food, and some figures of pre-Columbian origin such as the «múcuras», as well as comales and water jars. The renovated Chorotega style incorporates creative innovations of pre-Columbian origin.  It presents exact replicas of indigenous pieces obtained from pre-Columbian contexts by looting burials or by references in archaeological books with pieces that mix shapes and stylistic finishes in original combinations. The ecological style is innovative, incorporating ecological motifs, which emerged from the 1960s, when the pottery industry began to convert to the tourist market, encouraging a transition more towards a style of literal drawings of nature, with fauna motifs such as turtles, hummingbirds and butterflies, and plant motifs such as flowers and leaves.

COOPESANGUAI, a cooperative that brings together artisans, has 84 members. However, some of them are no longer active and others have had to change their activities to support their families, especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, when pottery sales and production fell. They can be found in the main craft shops located in the main tourist centres of the country.