Lacquered Maque Batea Bird Mexican Lacquerware from Uruapan Michoacan

ABOUT THIS MAQUE DISH

This one of a kind Maque lacquered plate or batea is from Uruapan, Michoacan.It is beautifully decorated with a bird and flowers in a blue and black palette. The whole piece 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