Mexican Lacquer dish batea blue & black from Uruapan Michoacan

ABOUT THIS MAQUE LACQUERED DISH

This Maque lacquered wooden plate or batea is from Uruapan, Michoacan.It is decorated with blue flowers on a black background. The whole dish was crafted using the almost lost pre columbian technique of Maque, a type of lacquer developed by the Purepecha indian during the XIVth century. To make the painting, the artist must etch out the pattern and paint it after with a hand made mixture of vegetable pigments, oils and minerals. The preparation of the paint takes several days.