Oaxacan Folk Art Animals
Chango Mezcalero: Collectible Pottery Mezcal Bottle from Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxacan Clay Spirits Container Has a Curious History in San Bartolo Coyotepec
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B.
Chango Mezcalero has become a very collectible folk art item whose history has been recounted infrequently, if at all. While by all accounts it originated in the State of Oaxaca, home of mezcal – the spirit distilled from the baked, then fermented agave plant – it’s now highly sought after by collectors residing much further abroad.
The story of Chango Mezcalero may provide a link between the grey, functional pottery produced in Oaxaca’s San Bartolo Coyotepec initially during pre-Hispanic times, and the area’s contemporary black pottery or barro negro. Black pottery is stated to have resulted from the 1952/53 innovation of now famous Zapotec native potters, Doña Rosa Real and husband Don Juventino Nieto.
What Exactly is Chango Mezcalero, the Curious Monkey-Shaped Mezcal Bottle?
Chango Mezcalero is a clay receptacle in the shape of a monkey, often painted in brilliant colors, traditionally used for mezcal. In modern times the monkey shape has been manufactured as mainly decorative folk art, sometimes unpainted yet with detailed etching into the grey clay, occasionally bottomless and without a spout since it’s not intended for serving liquid.
The traditional Chango Mezcalero was used to hold, display and / or gift mezcal for imbibing, and hence the name. The clay bottle is just that, usually with a stopper made of cork, or a small piece of corn cob.
Some of the more common poses of the monkey include eating or simply holding a banana, arms across the chest, and one hand in front with the other covering an eye.
Chango Mezcalero served both the tourist and local trade. It’s encountered with Recuerdo de Oaxaca (Souvenir of Oaxaca) written on the back; and sometimes as a pair, with the name of a man painted on the front of one figure and of a woman on the other, suggested local use as personalized gifts – for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and other rites of passage. Sometimes it’s found painted, yet with no inscription, by no means unusual since its original function was as a combined adornment and serving bottle kept on the shelves of cantinas.
Chango Mezcalero´s size is usually between 8” and 9.5” in height. The traditional forms hold between about 700 ml and 1 liter, respectively.
Linking Barro Negro and Chango Mezcalero in an Historical Context
Eighty-year-old Don Valente Nieto, sole surviving progeny of Doña Rosa and Don Juventino, states that anyone else in his hometown of San Bartolo Coyotepec who maintains that they or their deceased relatives were the creator of Chango Mezcalero, is mistaken or misstating fact. He believes that his father, a highly talented sculptor, was the innovator of not only Chango Mezcalero, but other fanciful clay vessels used for holding mezcal.
Don Valente reveals that it all began when cantina operators from Oaxaca – first one, followed by others – started coming to the Nieto-Real homestead, requesting the chango bottle for keeping, displaying and selling mezcal. Eventually other animal forms were requested and produced. While the gifted Don Juventino created those different shapes as well, Chango Mezcalero gained notoriety.
Don Valente notes the clay molds of the chango, mermaid, stylized owl and more, tucked away as mementos of his father’s legacy. He points to vintage photos of his parents alongside such figures waiting to be placed in a rudimentary in-ground oven for baking. Don Juventino died in 1973, at 70 years of age, while Doña Rosa died some seven year later, at 80.
Indeed Don Valente’s parents are the acknowledged innovators of barro negro, the shiny black pottery now providing the livelihood for most townspeople in San Bartolo Coyotepec. In fact Nelson Rockefeller was an admirer of Doña Rosa and her barro negro, and himself had a substantial collection of her work. Before the early 1950s innovation of black pottery, and dating to pre-Hispanic times, villagers were producing only utilitarian grey clay pieces such as San Bartolo’s noted cantaro form.
An alternate version of the origin of Chango Mezcalero comes from the San Bartolo Coyotepec family of Marcelo Simon Galan, deceased. His granddaughter advises that her abuelo used to go on trade routes with his grey clay pieces including water bottles and pitchers. She continues that someone once asked him to make a monkey form, he complied, and then orders began to come in from others. He worked with the clay, while others did the painting.
With further investigation more facts will hopefully emerge which may lead to additional credence being given to this version of the origin of Chango Mezcalero. For what it’s worth, one of Don Marcelo´s changos is on display at the Museo de Arte Popular de Oaxaca in San Bartolo Coyotepec.
Nowithstanding the foregoing, and subject to further information coming to light, if the Nieto-Real family was the creator of barro negro, now coveted by collectors of Mexican crafts across the globe, is it too far a stretch to suggest that perhaps the same family was the innovator of Chango Mezcalero? As to why initially a chango, perhaps there’s a relationship between the black-faced, monkey-feautured Memin Pinguin Mexican comic book character, and the origins of Chango Mezcalero.
Cautionary Notes Concerning the History and Significance of Chango Mezcalero
The foregoing is hypothesis, based on partial oral histories and an examination of various vintage and contemporary pieces. While some would discount the validity of oral histories vis-à-vis Oaxacan studies, they remain an important methodology for piecing together information including chronology; sometimes complementing, while at other times being the only viable research tool yielding results.
When examining the relationship between the development of pre-Hispanic pottery traditions, barro negro and Chango Mezcalero, one must keep at least three points in mind:
- The richness, diversity and multitude of pre-Hispanic art-forms developed in the central valleys of Oaxaca, as evidenced in, amongst other places, Oaxaca’s Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre.Hispanic Art;
- Two oral histories exist in San Bartolo Coyotepec regarding the origins of Chango Mezcalero, and more may come to light (or perhaps have already been told), with the distinct possibility that there may never be any definitive answer – and perhaps development began at roughly the same time, at different workshops;
- There may indeed be physical evidence disputing the foregoing stories of the origin of Chango Mezcalero, and in fact close examination of bottles suggests that at some point in time it was produced using a different clay than that used for making barro products in San Bartolo Coyotepec.
Despite these and other caveats, the little, often colorful monkey-shaped mezcal bottle known as Chango Mezcalero, provides historians with fruit for further research, and folk art collectors with at least provisional answers to their queries.
Irma Garcia Blanco Sculpting Clay Demonstration
|
|
The Van Rensselear Children Portrait 1840 antique oil painting ! Folk art $24,900.00 |
|
|
Antique Pair of Iconic American Folk Art Carved Pine Wood Eagle Sculpture – RARE $20,000.00 |
|
|
Metal Art Sculpture Sculptor for Hire Travel Design fabricate install folk art ! $20,000.00 |
|
|
Mamie Falk Folk Art Oil Painting – Considered Minnesota’s “Grandma Moses” $19,750.00 |
|
|
Yuri Gorbachev ORIGINAL Landscape Oil painting Folk Art $17,500.00 |
|
|
Folk Art wood statue of Grover Cleveland 1894 $9,500.00 |
|
|
Antique Ship Captain Folk Art Carved Coconut Chalice $8,500.00 |
|
|
Original Oil On Canvas Painting by Minni Hines Bayou Scene Folk Art 24×48 $8,495.75 |
|
|
Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $6,890.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab fly dragon $6,329.00 |
|
|
Banjo Boy/ Pre-Civil War Folk Art on Linen $6,000.00 |
|
|
LARGE Antique Americana Folk Art Painting of Boy -Civil War Col. Orlando H Moore $5,999.99 |
|
|
Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $5,990.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Avalokitesvara $5,590.00 |
|
|
AMERICAN FOLK ART PUPPET THEATRE QUEENS,NY $5,000.00 |
|
|
Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Cotton Pickin’ c1977 20×26.25 $5,000.00 |
|
|
vincent van gogh sculpture outsider folk art Dale Teachout assemblage junk $5,000.00 |
|
|
Bessie Harvey Folk Art Found Object Museum Piece!!! $5,000.00 |
|
|
PAIR OF 19TH C FOLK ART PORTRAITS PAINTINGS SIGNED P MARTIN 1886 HUSBAND & WIFE $4,999.99 |
|
|
ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART ETCHED GLASS ALLEGHENY CTY PA GERMAN WOW $4,999.99 |
|
|
ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART FISH HOOK MASSIVE IRON TRADE SIGN $4,999.99 |
|
|
Signed OLD master GESSO FRAME OIL ON CANVAS PORTRAIT NELSON pipe Folk art $4,999.00 |
|
|
Clementine Hunter Folk Art Painting Signed “Picking Cotton” $4,850.00 |
|
|
Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone double dragon holding the sun $4,690.00 |
|
|
FOLK ART OIL PAINTING PORTRAIT CHILD ICONIC RED DRESS PRINCE CHARLES SPANIEL $4,500.00 |
|
|
Corbels Pair Wood Winged Griffins Victorian Old Paint Architectural Folk Art $4,500.00 |
|
|
FOLK ART PAINTING SULLIVAN COUNTY NEW YORK J R GEROW $4,500.00 |
|
|
Exceptional Folk Art Painting $4,500.00 |
|
|
Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! Peddling Melons $4,500.00 |
|
|
New England Folk Art Portrait on Canvas Ca.1830 $4,500.00 |
|
|
Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Wash Day c1977 19.25 x 23.25in $4,500.00 |
|
|
A Outstanding Early Trade Axe,Folk Art Hatchet, $4,500.00 |
|
|
Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $4,490.00 |
|
|
FANTASTIC FOLK ART CHEST $4,200.00 |
|
|
Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting African Headdress c1977 25.5h $4,000.00 |
|
|
ANTIQUE MINIATURE PRIMITIVE FOLK ART WOOD RURAL SCENE FRAMED 12 1/4″ UNIQUE $3,885.00 |
|
|
*RARE TRAMP / FOLK ART Shoe Shine Box – Brass/Wood-Detailed-Ornate-Exquisite $3,800.00 |
|
|
Antique KNOTTY Tree Root Twig FOLK ART CHAIR Set GOODY KOONCH West Virginia $3,750.00 |
|
|
Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,650.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone-an old man finshing alone $3,590.00 |
|
|
Folk Art Hand Carved Soldier,6ft Tall Pick Up Only $3,532.50 |
|
|
Unique/Exceptional Large Oval Folk Art Santa Claus Wood Carving signed Cobb 98 $3,500.00 |
|
|
Painting Vintage 50s Cowboy Folk Art Levis Jeans Vinicur Little Buckaroo Parade $3,500.00 |
|
|
Advertising Art / Folk Art / Christmas Hooked Rug – 5′x3 1/2′ $3,500.00 |
|
|
Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! $3,500.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Lofty aspiration $3,490.00 |
|
|
Terrazzo Marble Micro Mosaic Latin Ethnic Musicians Mural Folk Fine Art $3,374.99 |
|
|
Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,250.00 |
|
|
FINE 19c EARLY FOLK ART PORTRAIT PAINTING $3,225.00 |
|
|
Israel Jewish Art,Sara Hagay,Israeli Folk Dance “hora”,Oil,Judaica,Framed $3,000.00 |
|
|
mud painting signed jimmy sudduth a real folk art outsider master piece $3,000.00 |
|
|
ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CANE ISLE ROYALE FIRE WW2 D DAY GI ? KENOSHA WI $2,999.99 |
|
|
FRANK WYSO OUTSIDER FOLK ARTIST PENNSYLVANIA COAL MINERS 4 WORKS OF ART $2,999.99 |
|
|
King’s Couch Rare One of a Kind Yard Art from Chicago Folk Hand Made furniture $2,999.99 |
|
|
ANTIQUE 19th AMERICAN FOLK ART NATURALIST BUFFALO SETON STYLE CATLIN PAINTING $2,999.99 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab man walk in forest $2,999.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab a man watch moon $2,999.00 |
|
|
fine Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab scenery $2,890.00 |
|
|
Temperance Movement Folk Art Painting Folk Art Temperance Painting $2,850.00 |
|
|
Anonymous Folk Art Carving Figure with Crown in Skirt with Snake $2,799.99 |
|
|
ANTIQUE OIL PAINTING FOLK ART NEW ENGLAND ‘HUGES’ 1892 $2,750.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab with dragon $2,690.00 |
|
|
FOLK ART Antique Wood Polychrome Carved Asian Figure Sculpture $2,500.00 |
|
|
HUGE 37″ Antique 19th American Folk Art Carved Gilt Wood Eagle Statue Americana $2,500.00 |
|
|
Antique Primitive Folk Art Hand Carved Wooden Dough Bowl $2,500.00 |
|
|
FOLK ART OIL PAINTING OF THE SS “OCEAN” STEAMSHIP $2,475.00 |
|
|
Ca. 1820 American Folk Art Painting Deformed Man $2,450.00 |
|
|
James Harold Jennings Amazing and Colorful Folk Art! $2,400.00 |
|
|
Doris Lee – Folk Art Painting – Signed and Titled – Original Condition $2,400.00 |
|
|
DC: Prison Folk Art Matchstick Ship, HUGE 5′ Length $2,379.00 |
|
|
Amazing ORIGINAL NAUTICAL AMERICAN FOLK ART PAINTING $2,285.00 |
|
|
Early 20th Century Folk Art Sheep Painting/ Inside Barn $2,250.00 |
|
|
FOLK ART COLLAGE/Presidential Stamp Collage $2,250.00 |
|
|
Folk Art Handmade Ceramic Sculpture Plaque Dentist Pulling Tooth Dicker Vintage $2,200.00 |
|
|
ANTIQUE Americana TRADE SIGN IMMIGRATION FOLK ART NYC ICE CREAM PUSH CART $2,200.00 |
|
|
Ohio Pioneer Abraham Betz 1818 HANDWRITTEN LESSON BOOK with FOLK ART $2,150.00 |
|
|
HAITIAN ART: Vibrant PAINTING, SIGNED by Renowned Folk Artist TOUSSAINT AUGUSTE $2,150.00 |
|
|
Philippines National Artist Abdul Imao Brass Sculpture w/ Base Mindanao Folk Art $2,100.00 |
|
|
Ellen Eilers Calico Country Folk Art Woodcut Ornamental Trees Rare Early Work $2,000.00 |
|
|
antique 19th century oil painting folk art still life portraiture PA Amish girl $2,000.00 |
|
|
ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART FRUIT STILL LIFE WATERMELON OIL PAINTING $1,999.99 |
|
|
ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD BALEEN CARVED SPERM WHALE GROTESQUE AMERICANA WOW $1,999.99 |
|
|
ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART SHIP LIGHTHOUSE LARGE OIL PAINTING GERNAND VERMIER $1,999.99 |
|
|
Vtg Rutherford Tubby Brown Xmas 25″Folk Art Santa Claus $1,999.99 |
|
|
AMERICAN FOLK ART GAMEBOARD TABLE WITH SWASTIKAS $1,999.00 |
|
|
Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone peasant work on his land $1,999.00 |
|
|
LAURA SIQUEIROS “POSEIDONS ADVENTURE” FOLK ART PAINTING $1,999.00 |
|
|
Old Folk Art Cinderella pre Disney & Kincade Beautiful $1,995.00 |
|
|
Clyde Connell 1943 Folk Art hooked rug signed LISTED $1,900.00 |
|
|
ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CARVING TOBACCO CIGAR TRADE SIGN ? DISPLAY WOW $1,899.99 |
|
|
Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $1,890.00 |
|
|
WELSH AMERICAN SIGNED FOLK ART PAINTING JFK PT 109 $1,850.00 |
|
|
ORIGINAL TEXAS ARTIST FERGUSON OIL PAINTING FOLK ART $1,822.50 |
|
|
C Peterson ORIGINAL modern FOLKART sculpture SIGN ART painted OUT of WORK tools $1,817.00 |
|
|
48x48x1.5″█OIL▀PAINTING█ART█LARGE█BIG█PAINTINGS█FINE█RAW█MALE█REALISM█FOLK_POP█A $1,800.00 |
|
|
American Folk Art Painting of Little Girl Circa 1825 $1,800.00 |
|
|
Emma Schrock Folk Art 16″ by 12″ $1,795.00 |
|
|
c1920 Girl Knitting Folk Woman Antique Art Signed Oil Estate Painting $1,795.00 |
|
|
Folk Art Wood Carving Listed Folk Artist Albert Hoffman $1,750.00 |
|
|
Folk Art New England Oil on Canvas Painting/Circa 1860 $1,750.00 |
