This is gonna send me into a lot more curiosity shops - as if I didn’t go into plenty already.

It looks to be in remarkable condition, suffering only fading of the paint, probably being simply worn off from too much handling.

Astonishing!

Thank goodness someone finally thought to have it studied by someone who knows about pre-Colombian objects.

Hope it will have a safe, protected future!

An interesting thing most widely known as terrasigilata (terrasig for short) and is made by grinding colored clays and elements into a fine powder, adding water and painting it on the object prior to firing. In a pottery class I took, long ago, we made terrasig for our primitive pieces that we made and fired with dung. It was very interesting. I still have a few pieces I made in that class.

It's amazing that the piece in the article has survived modern man.

It's clear that the artist really knew what he/she was doing. The images are completely distinct.

It's mind-blowing to see one without pieces missing, or without being held together with glue.

Any images of creating pottery have always looked interesting! So much to learn.

Native citizens throughout the Americas have done amazing things in the process. Had heard about the black-on-black amazing pieces done in the pre-US west, and Japanese Raku, never had learned about terrasigilata.

Glad you kept some of your work!

Great way to spend time. No doubt you could pick up where you left off, too, if you decided to do some more. Tremendous skill to learn.

Have a lot of stuff to glaze with terrasig, it takes days on a power mill to make each color. But the end results are uniquely fabulous.

The black on black is either terrasig application or a surface treatment (burnishing) for the shiny parts and unburished for the matte. What makes it black is manner in which it is fired, reduction process, by snuffing out the fire abruptly and letting the fire go out under the heap, dig your stuff out when it's cooled. By robbing the fire of oxygen, it causes the remaining oxygen to rush out of the clay and is replaced by carbon and it all comes out black.

Did Raku too, that's fun at night!