Small Mexican Ceramic Skull Pot

This small skull pot is handmade from ceramic in Mexico and imported by Siesta, a family-run Fair Trade business in Canterbury and a member of BAFTS, the British Association for Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers.

Its form draws on the tzompantli, the racks of skulls that stood in the ceremonial centres of the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures. A platform carved with rows of stone skulls survives at the Templo Mayor in Mexico City, and the skull has remained a central motif in Mexican art through to the calaveras of Día de Muertos.

The pot stands about 6cm high, with an opening 5cm across. Each one is shaped and finished by hand, so the modelling of the face and the finish vary slightly from one to the next.

Caring for Handmade Ceramic

Wipe the pot with a dry or barely damp cloth. Handmade ceramic can be more porous than factory-made ware, so it is best kept for dry use and away from standing water, which can seep into the clay and mark the surface.

Material: ceramic
Height: approx. 6cm
Opening: 5cm
Made in: Mexico