Nazca Pottery

On our way to the Nazca Lines, our tour guide stopped at a ceramic shop that he thought we might find interesting. And he was right! The shop was basically someone's house. As we entered, we saw an elderly man working with clay. He tells, us to walk right in and then starts to explain: He uses the same technique as the ancient Nazca and everything in the shop is a replica of actual Nazcan pottery that you can find in museums (we later visited a museum and his statement was accurate). He learned the ancient technique from his father-in-law. Nazca pottery is famous because it retains its brilliant colour and is only fired once (not twice like in other countries). There is no wheel and all the the decorative paints are made from minerals. No Chemicals are used in creating the pottery from the shop. After the items are shaped (by hand only) and then painted, the paint is then ground into the pottery using a semi precious stone which is first wiped on his cheek to cover it in human oils. He then polished the designs with the precious stone until it is all blended into the pottery (we were able to touch the paint before the polishing and afterward, then difference was marked). Then a bunch of pieces are put on top of each other in a pit, upon which is fire is built. The pottery comes out...and it remarkable in how it feels and looks. This, he said, is the ancient Nazcan technique. We had the opportunity to hold pottery that was 2000 years old...and James even tried to paint some pottery. The shop was pretty cool and, as you can guess by now, we bought a lot of stuff. I am hoping it makes it home safe and sound. Fun fact : in addition to all the plates, vases, jars, bowls, and other decorative things, there was a series of sex pottery.... Those pictures are not in the link below... Click here for photos