Marvelous Mexican majolica

[bixaorellana]

...or awesome azulejos, or fabulous faience:

Puebla is a beautiful city, not least because of the exuberant use of their gorgeous tiles and the inspired paint colors that complement them.

Puebla and the nearby town of Cholula are known for the production of tin-enameled earthenware using a technique imported from Spain in the 17th century. Entire streets are given over to the sale of these wares, and old examples can be found in the many antique stores. I'd like to show some of this beauty snapped during my Christmas visit there this year.

For more information on talavera: www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tala/hd_tala.htm#slideshow8 and gomexico.about.com/od/shoppinghandicrafts/p/talavera.htm.

I walked past this place many times, as it was on the route between the main square & my hotel ~

We passed this church on our way to a day trip. Don't feel badly that you don't get to go inside this time.
I have many, many, many church pictures from this trip!   But what an outside, huh?!






Almost immediately after seeing the beauty above, we came upon this confection in stone, plaster, & tiles ~
       



This is the

[bixaorellana]

       



"Faithful! An Our Father and Hail Mary for the blessed souls in holy Purgatory."




Okay, okay ~~ this time we'll go inside!
You will notice here and in the scads of other church pictures I will eventually post that the interiors can look disconcertingly new.
As far as I can tell, Puebla churches are either continuously renovated or maybe there was a recent influx of money & enthusiasm.
It's often quite pretty, but some patina of age is nice, too.





A rather plain musical area to the left of the altar ~


The ceilings ~

[bixaorellana]

One of the paintings alluded to on the plaque outside the church ~


Do these windows look suspiciously modern?




Every church we visited had a manger scene, but always with bigger figures than these ~






In all the churches, the figures of Jesus as a baby or little boy got age-appropriate Christmas presents ~


Don't worry. I haven't forgotten this thread is about tile. In fact, here is a homely example from where we stopped for a potty break in Cholula.
I was transfixed by the swans ~

[bixaorellana]

I reported on Puebla's magnificent cathedral from an earlier trip, and showed the cathedral's ceramic creche scene in a recent thread about Puebla's Christmas lights. The darkness in the cathedral frustrated me when I photographed that manger scene, so I returned during the day
to try to capture more detail & truer color ~

[bixaorellana]

           



          







A quick shot of some stained glass & bidding farewell to some old friends in Purgatory ~

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[tod2]

I am so glad you returned during daylight - The figures look simply fantastic! Just to think that it's all hand painted and then sparkles in that wonderful glaze. They must be absolutely priceless and the people in charge of taking them out and then storing them again must be so trustworthy.

I thought your photos of Puebla were terrific and showed us what a wonderful city it is. Thanks so much!

[htmb]

I am enjoying these wonderful photos. I love tiles, and you have certainly captured some beautiful sights.

The crèche photos are marvelous. Such fine work. The figures have such wonderful detail and almost give a sense of warmth and motion. Local to Puebla, si?

I don't recall ever seeing balloons in a church and loved the shot of the balloons that had collected in the dome.

[mossie]

Super super ceramics.
The church interiors reminded me of the period when England got religion, in the 14th and 15th centuries. Then the wealth of the town or village was dedicated to improving the church, as in the great wool church at Lavenham, Suffolk. Is this happening in Mexico ??

[Kimby]

Wow, these are a feast for the eyes, bixa.

[Deleted]

Your new camera seems to capture the colours much better than mine does (or maybe I should read the manual some day). I really like the whimsy of the colourful balloons up on the ceiling of the church.

[mich64]

It is so enjoyable to go through picture by picture an admire the craftmanship, outstanding. I also was impressed by the detail work of the bell towers. I can only imagine how amazing your church thread is going to be!

[bixaorellana]

Thank you all so much and please accept my apologies for responding so tardily.

Tod & Htmb, I'm so glad you all enjoyed the creche figures again. I'm very frustrated that I haven't been able to find background on them at all, so far.

A special thanks to you, Tod, for mentioning the Puebla photos. You may not have been so quick to praise had you known the daunting amount I have still to show. ;D

Mossie, I'm not sure if all the renovation has anything to do with religion, or simply with the realization that these churches are historic and cultural treasures. Certainly all of the better known ones had scads of tourists wandering through.

I was totally charmed by the escapee balloons and indeed, by all the shiny, tinselly, & even goofy Christmas decorations in even the most elaborate churches.

Thanks, Kimby, and thank you, Kerouac for the nice compliment on the colors. No flash is allowed in the churches, which mostly alternate between glare and gloom. I've discarded tons of photos of blurry gilded splendor.

Mich, thank you. I've taken so long to respond because I'm trying to process all the pictures & figure out a coherent way to present them. Believe, me -- you ain't seen nuthin yet! I've got wedding cake bell towers to beat the band and unimaginable examples of excess in the service of religious art. By the time I'm through, we'll be having mass conversions on this forum, or at least attacks of asthma from the clouds of incense.

This particular thread was meant as somewhat of an introduction & overview of the use of tile in Puebla & the surrounding area. But no matter how many pictures you see of homely or clever uses of tile, as in ..................


or

           ..........

nothing, absolutely nothing, prepares one for the sight of something like this:

Stay tuned, please!

[bjd]

Geez -- is there a witch living in there?

[mossie]

OMG ! Oops, wrong expression, but how OTT is that
And as for conversion and incense, now I know what has brought my asthma back ;D ;D

[Deleted]

The tiles remind me of my trip to Lisbon -- that is the thing that struck me the most when I went there. There were nice buildings, nice churches, nice all sorts of things -- but what fascinated me was that they were covered with tiles!

[lugg]

Fabulous just fabulous Bixa

I love this thread for lots of reasons - the colours in your awesome photos of the majolica , the balloons in the church...

Most of all because I once had a kitchen with mexican inspired tiles such as those in the third photo down of # 2 - and now I know that next time I redecorate this particular kitchen I want them again !!

[mich64]

My my... that is the most opulent church I have ever seen! I do like all the white iron benches on the path towards it, I love it when there is plenty of seating.

[bixaorellana]

Many thanks for all the great feedback. As for the "stay tuned" comment in this thread, I've finally made a start on the Puebla revisited thread. It will have some ecclesiastical opulence, althoug some of the churches will require their own threads ~~ y'all ain't seen nothin yet!

Jan 9, 2013 8:22:39 GMT bjd said:

Geez -- is there a witch living in there?

;D Interesting comment. I'll get around to showing the interior of that church eventually. It is plain in comparison to one in an adjoining town. My trip companion pointed out that some of the stuff that's rather beautiful in person is overwhelming and confusing in photos. We'll see.

Jan 9, 2013 8:26:30 GMT mossie said:

OMG ! Oops, wrong expression, but how OTT is that
And as for conversion and incense, now I know what has brought my asthma back

Sorry, Mossie. I was going to ask you to be one of the collection-takers there, but quess we'll have to forget that now.

Jan 9, 2013 18:54:11 GMT kerouac2 said:

The tiles remind me of my trip to Lisbon -- that is the thing that struck me the most when I went there. There were nice buildings, nice churches, nice all sorts of things -- but what fascinated me was that they were covered with tiles!

Most interesting, Kerouac. I don't remember seeing that in Spain & had no idea tiles were used to that extent in Portugal.

Jan 11, 2013 19:35:02 GMT lugg said:

I once had a kitchen with mexican inspired tiles

Some friends recently repainted the interior of their house. The only other touch was to add tiles on the risers of the stone staircase. It made an enormous difference in interest & "lightness".

Jan 11, 2013 22:51:35 GMT mich64 said:

I do like all the white iron benches on the path towards it

Isn't that a great way to line a path? So many of the old churches in Mexico have huge spaces around them, but not all provide seating. The church in Ocotlán has a great selection of public seating, though.

[Deleted]

This is one of the threads I haven't been able to savor until now....just the title alone I knew would send me...and it did.
Knowing I am a sucker for ceramics,tiles , potterry and the like....

The colors are outrageous!!!
In so many respects it reminds me of Istanbul, where, even the tiles in the nastiest of "WC's" if you can even call them that, sent me.

I have to ask, why or what differentiates 'majolica', the term, from tiles, pottery, ceramics?

These are outstanding pics Bixa, and yes, you have once again surpassed your eye and technique.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Casimira. You'd swoon over the beauty & variety around Puebla.

re: majolica ~~ as it says in the OP, the term refers to "tin-enameled earthenware". However, after reading your question, I tried to find out more. I think this definition from Merriam-Webster really defines what distinguishes it as majolica:

earthenware covered with an opaque tin glaze and decorated on the glaze before firing     more here

Also found this, which I probably shouldn't show you. Heck, I shouldn't look at it! ;D
www.ebay.com/sch/Majolica-/453/i.html

[Deleted]

OMG!!!
At first, when I scrolled the ebay link, I saw what I thought were deviled egg trays, and I gasped.
Then, I saw that they were oyster plates,and really lusted over a couple of them. Just gorgeous!!!
Had I the money, I would get you that Koi Wedgewood like plate Bixa.

[nycgirl]

The colorful tilework is beautiful, and, like htmb, I also love the photos of the balloons gathered on the domed ceiling. But that last shot is absolutely eye-popping!