Clay art is a millennial activity which has existed for more than 3,000 years before Christ. In Brazil, its practice is very representative of popular culture.
It is an inheritance left by the Indigenous peoples. Indigenous women made clay toys for their children and household objects such as trays, bowls, plates, and pots modeled according to their creativity and/or need and painted with strong and colorful dyes inspired by nature.
Clay crafts is a spontaneous production which is part of the crafters’ sensitivity and ingenuity.
Matutos are cunning and have a fertile, creative imagination. They use clay to do something that gives them pleasure, beauty, and art, making handicrafts a source of income for their livelihood.
Clay artisans are anonymous artists scattered throughout the hinterlands of the Brazilian North and Northeast. In many municipalities in Northeastern Brazil, especially in Pernambuco, the practice of clay crafts is widespread, rustically manufactured in Caruaru, Tracunhahém, and Goiana, cities which stand out in the production of utilitarian and ornamental ceramics in the state.
In Caruaru, the practice of clay crafts originated in Alto do Moura, in which Master Vitalino lived, a prominent figure in handicraft production in Pernambuco who became the best known potter in the Northeast. His sculptures were and still are successful in Brazil and abroad.
Tracunhaém, located in the northern forest of the state of Pernambuco is known as the “ceramic pole” since most of the population is dedicated to representing saints in clay.
One the main artisans of this region is Zezinho de Tracunhahém, who models his pieces representing St. Anthony, St. Peter, St. Joseph, Father Cicero and others.
Goiana, the “clay land,” located 50 kilometers from Recife, has, as its main activity, the modeling of clay images resembling patron saints of the Catholic Church (St. Peter, St. Anthony, and St. Expeditus) and representative figures of the Zona da Mata folklore, such as the crab handler, the pineapple seller, the coconut harvester, and the fisherman. Also represented are the Tejucupapo heroines, the rural maracatu, the pastoril, the washerwomen, the beggars, the coalmen, and several other figures expressing and enriching the regional culture.
The artists who stand out the most in clay crafts are Zé do Carmo and Gercino Santos, both internationally known for their talent and creativity.
Recife, July 1, 2003.
sources consulted
ALMEIDA, Renato. Artes plásticas folclóricas. Revista Brasileira de Folclore, Rio de Janeiro, v. 10, n. 28, p. 228-258, set./dez. 1970.
A CERÂMICA é técnica milenar. Suplemento Cultural D. O. PE, Recife, v. 15, p. 16-17, set. 2000.
ARTESANATO de barro. Foto nesse texto. Disponível em: <https://decasapramoda.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/artesanato-riqueza-cultural-brasileira/>. Acesso em: 2 ago. 2016.
MACHADO, Clotilde de Carvalho. O barro na arte popular brasileira. Rio de Janeiro: Lídio Ferreira Júnior Artes Gráficas e Editora, 1977. 214 p.
MIGUEZ, Renato. Ceramistas populares de Pernambuco. Revista Brasileira de Folclore, Rio de Janeiro, v. 10, n. 28, p. 228-258, set./dez. 1970.
how to quote this text
MACHADO, Regina Coeli Vieira. Clay crafts. In: PESQUISA Escolar. Recife: Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, 2003. Available from: https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/pt-br/artigo/xilogravura/. Access on mês dia ano. (Ex.: Aug. 6, 2009.)