There is a great diversity of Quality Ceramics in Peru and Kutimunki has travelled far and wide to ensure we can bring them all to you

Using long established contacts Kutimunki has sourced the finest producers from Piura in the tropical jungles of the North to the Sacred Valley at the top of the Andes in the South. There are many remote villages to which we have travelled in order to ensure we help not only you but the people of Peru. As a result Kutimunki can offer you the best Peru has to offer.

Products so natural that you can detect the smell of the earth and wood fire.

CHULUCANAS
Near the foothills of the Piura highlands in northern Peru and close to the border with Ecuador is a town called Chulucanas.  In the 1960s the Moncada and Sosa families of Chulucanas began studying early decorative ceramic methods.
Thousands of years ago, the potters of the Vicus culture in the coastal deserts of Peru were known as the finest ceramic artists in the Americas. Using clay, religious inspiration and the natural symbols around them, they fashioned elegantly shaped, subtly painted ceramic pots, based on their ancient culture. The pots were decorated with earthy colors of naturally-dyed slips and hand burnished with volcanic rock.

The negative-positive technique was researched and its renewed use has now evolved into a wide variety of shades ranging from light to a dark, almost black ocher. The color is obtained by selecting a variety of fuels such as fresh or dry leaves from mango and banana plants. The amount of fuel placed in the second firing is what provides the variety of shades. Chulucanas art is so natural that you can detect the smell of earth and wood fire on the pieces.

Chulucanas pottery is made by the descendants of the Vicus. Capturing the techniques that were developed more than 2,000 years ago Chulucanas pottery can be considered a true inheritance of Precolombian art by these northern Peruvian indigenous artists.

To own Chulucanas pottery is to own a piece of Ancient Peruvian Culture.

INCAICO

In a world that knew no alphabet or writing art was the best vehicle with which to record and perpetuate people's memories and sentiments. The Incas, who conquered all the Andean civilizations in the 15th century depicted their lives, accomplishments and feats of their heroes on large cups shaped with sides turned outwards on a round base. Cusco's ruling classes and the nobility throughout the empire used these cups not only to drink from on festive occasions but also to collect the blood of the sacrificial llamas and to pour "Chicha" (a drink made of corn) into the ground as an offering to the gods.

These cups were called Qeros.

The majority of these cups have three clearly differentiated horizontal bands.

The largest band is at the top and usually depicts a scene from the everyday lives of the Incas. The center band contains geometric figures within squares; these are Tocapu, symbols also found on the clothing of the nobility and which some specialists believe are a form of writing that contemporary science has yet to decipher. Finally, the bottom band depicts a series of plant and vegetable motifs.

There are Incan Qeros with different styles, including some with the faces of people or animals and Qeros that are divided into vertical and not horizontal band. However, the type described above is the most known of the ancient Qeros and the style most made by contemporary artisans.

After the Spanish invasion, the Qeros incorporated western motifs such as horses and men with hats and swords. Despite this concession to the European influence, possessing a Qero during colonial times signified acknowledgement of Incan heritage and a resistance to Spanish domination. In an era where the Andean artist was obligated to paint and sculpt only Christian themes the Qeros depicted scenes from rural life, dances and even mythological battles between Andean gods and western symbols.

The Qeros became a symbol of cultural resistance in the Andes to the beliefs imposed by the Spanish settlers.

Contemporary Artesans have replaced typical Tocapu symbols with Andean geometric forms.
Most Qeros are produced in Pisac, in the Vilcanota Valley (Sacred Valley of the Incas) near Cusco, Peru.

Steps in the Production Process
1: The clay is prepared by mixing different soils and by extracting impurities.
2: It is manually moulded using a rotating circular base, to produce the desired form.
3: It is dried under the sun.
4: It is baked at temperature not exceeding 300 degrees centigrade.
5: The inside is glazed.
6: The outside is hand painted with Incas typical drawings and symbols.
7: It is again baked at temperature that can reach up to 1,200 degrees centigrade.

The tradition, as old as the Andean man himself, obligates the person who is going to drink to offer the first sip to Pachamama (Mother Earth) by spilling liquid onto the ground and thanking her for all that is good. If the liquid is Chicha and the cup is a Qero, the ceremony takes on a more solemn nature and Pachamama shows greater gratitude, this continues to be the belief of the people of the Andes.

The people of the Andes continue to practise this Incan Art with a variety of forms and designs available. You can be assured that by purchasing Incaico Ceramics from Kutimunki that you are not only helping the people of Peru financially but ensuring the continuation of this ancient culture for generations to come.

Peruvian Hand Made Ceramics have arrived at Mexican Living

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