Tile

Authentic Talavera Tiles for Day of the Dead Style

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Day of the Dead Ceramic Tile is each beautifully handcrafted and feature images which represent the annual celebration of El Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). A common symbol on our Day of the Dead Talavera Tile is the skull (calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for skeleton). These skeletons or “calacas” are meant to depict a joyful and active afterlife, and are often used as home decor.

Day of the Dead Tile

Every November in the villages of Mexico, communities gather in local cemeteries to honor departed loved ones and to celebrate the joy of living. The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal, often varying from town to town.

In many American communities, especially those with a large Hispanic population, Day of the Dead celebrations are very similar to those held in Mexico. In some of these communities, such as in Texas and Arizona the celebrations tend to be mostly traditional. For example, the All Souls Procession has been an annual Tucson event since 1990. The event combines elements of traditional Day of the Dead celebrations with those of pagan harvest festivals. People wearing masks carry signs honoring the dead and an urn in which people can place slips of paper with prayers on them to be burned. Likewise, Old Town San Diego, California annually hosts a very traditional two-day celebration culminating in a candlelight procession to the historic El Campo Santo Cemetery.

Share your love of this annual celebration by incorporating Talavera Tiles which have been decorated with eye-catching Day of the Dead designs. Decorative ceramic tiles are also perfect to simply use as a drink coaster or trivet.

Intricately Detailed Talavera Tiles

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talavera_tilesHandcrafts in Mexico vary widely from materials used, techniques and employ and styles preferred. The most prevalent of Mexico’s crafts is ceramics/pottery. Ceramics was considered one of the highest art forms during the Aztec Empire, with the knowledge of making pottery said to have come from the god Quetzalcoatl himself.

Pre-Hispanic pottery was made by coiling the clay into a circle then up the sides, then scraping and molding the coiled work until the coils could no longer be detected. The Spanish introduced the potters’ wheel and new glazing techniques.  Majolica glazed pottery was introduced by the Spanish. Puebla in particular is renowned for its variety of Majolica, which is called Talavera. One distinctive feature of this city is that many kitchens and buildings are decorated with intricately detailed Talavera tiles. Tiles are a subset of ceramic pottery and were used extensively in colonial-era Mexico. These tiles were first fired at a low temperature, then hand-painted with intricate designs, then fired at a high temperature to set the glaze. These are still made, but most decorative tiles used in Mexico are factory-made.  Unglazed pottery is still made, but generally it is for decorative purposes only, and copies the designs of pre-Hispanic cultures.