26. July - 24. August 2008
The exhibit had a tour in three Danish museums (Museum of International Ceramic Art – Denmark, Funen, Art Center Silkeborg Bad – Jutland and Danish Museum of Art and Design – Copenhagen), and will continue on its Nordic tour to museums in Estonia and now in Iceland with a support of Nordic Cultural Fund.
Some scholars consider ornately decorated pottery to have been the most valuable commodity in this region during Pre-Columbian times, akin to jade, obsidian, and gold in other regions of the Americas. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little research about Nicaraguan Pre-Columbian history, and the exact use of these pots is not known. However, scholars assume that finely worked pottery was used in the religious ceremonies and that the pots were vessels used for sacred purposes.
Nicaraguan pottery has reaffirmed its glorious past, as it today is presented in the museum halls. The Museum of International Ceramic Art-Denmark pioneered the exhibition, working in close cooperation with Nicaraguan officials, artisans, and experts, and financed by different Danish organisations (CKU, Carlsberg, MFA). The museum’s director, Lise Seisboell, conducted a fact-finding visit to Nicaragua in 2003. Against the expectation of her board members, she concluded that high quality Nicaraguan pottery should be presented in the museum. The exhibition was opened in September 2006 and has been one of the museum’s most popular exhibitions of the past 10 years.
In multiple ways, the exhibition has been a winning proposition for all the participants. Many different individuals and their work have been brought by the exhibition. The exhibition catalogue, which was published simultaneously with the exhibition’s opening, brought together experts such as Nicaraguan archaeologist Edgar Espinosa Perez and Les Filed, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, who wrote a book about Nicaraguan artisans, including the potters of San Juan de Oriente, and their role in the history of Nicaraguan culture.
Five hundred years ago European conquistadores settled in Nicaragua. Today Nicaraguan potters are “conquering” the Nordic countries with their uniquely designed and conceptualized art.
The participants are Cornelio Cano, Emmanuel Maldonado, Gregorio Bracamonte, Helio Gutierrez, Horacio Salazar, Mario Salazar, Javier Gallegos, Jose Ortiz, Juan Paulino Martinez, Luis Gutierrez, Loma Panda, Rogelio Gutierrez Nicaragua, Raul Quintanilla, Saul Carballo, Teodulo Potosme, Vladimir Norori, Ducale Grande, Candido Jiménez, Ena Bracamonte and Miguel Maldonado.
Nicaraguan Pottery
Nicaraguan pottery derives from a profound and rich cultural heritage. Over the past thirty years, the technical quality, technological sophistication, and creative range of potters of San Juan de Oriente and other small producing communities have developed immensely, which has allowed these communities to begin emerging from a grinding poverty that has afflicted them for many decades. Now for the first time in history, contemporary Nicaraguan pottery is being exhibited in European museums.The exhibit had a tour in three Danish museums (Museum of International Ceramic Art – Denmark, Funen, Art Center Silkeborg Bad – Jutland and Danish Museum of Art and Design – Copenhagen), and will continue on its Nordic tour to museums in Estonia and now in Iceland with a support of Nordic Cultural Fund.
Some scholars consider ornately decorated pottery to have been the most valuable commodity in this region during Pre-Columbian times, akin to jade, obsidian, and gold in other regions of the Americas. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little research about Nicaraguan Pre-Columbian history, and the exact use of these pots is not known. However, scholars assume that finely worked pottery was used in the religious ceremonies and that the pots were vessels used for sacred purposes.
Nicaraguan pottery has reaffirmed its glorious past, as it today is presented in the museum halls. The Museum of International Ceramic Art-Denmark pioneered the exhibition, working in close cooperation with Nicaraguan officials, artisans, and experts, and financed by different Danish organisations (CKU, Carlsberg, MFA). The museum’s director, Lise Seisboell, conducted a fact-finding visit to Nicaragua in 2003. Against the expectation of her board members, she concluded that high quality Nicaraguan pottery should be presented in the museum. The exhibition was opened in September 2006 and has been one of the museum’s most popular exhibitions of the past 10 years.
In multiple ways, the exhibition has been a winning proposition for all the participants. Many different individuals and their work have been brought by the exhibition. The exhibition catalogue, which was published simultaneously with the exhibition’s opening, brought together experts such as Nicaraguan archaeologist Edgar Espinosa Perez and Les Filed, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, who wrote a book about Nicaraguan artisans, including the potters of San Juan de Oriente, and their role in the history of Nicaraguan culture.
Five hundred years ago European conquistadores settled in Nicaragua. Today Nicaraguan potters are “conquering” the Nordic countries with their uniquely designed and conceptualized art.
The participants are Cornelio Cano, Emmanuel Maldonado, Gregorio Bracamonte, Helio Gutierrez, Horacio Salazar, Mario Salazar, Javier Gallegos, Jose Ortiz, Juan Paulino Martinez, Luis Gutierrez, Loma Panda, Rogelio Gutierrez Nicaragua, Raul Quintanilla, Saul Carballo, Teodulo Potosme, Vladimir Norori, Ducale Grande, Candido Jiménez, Ena Bracamonte and Miguel Maldonado.