Hand Hammered Vessel
Santa Clara de Cobre, Mexico
Copper
6.5” high x 8” diameter
The area known today as Santa Clara del Cobre was a renowned copper center even before the conquest of Mexico. The Purépecha people were widely known as excellent coppersmiths, and even though the Spanish conquistadores brought several new techniques for working the copper from Europe, the Purépecha contributed with their own way of extracting the metal from the ore by adding heat, that was more efficient than other, known techniques of the old world.
Today, the new generations of coppersmiths, the descendants of those ancient masters, continue to create the most beautiful, salmon-reddish colored utensils and decorative pieces, traditionally used and cherished by many Mexican households.
