Esteban Valdez Redware Bowl, Hand-Painted Bird Motif, San Miguel de Allende

Hand-coiled terracotta bowl by Esteban Valdez of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato — a noted folk potter working in the loza roja tradition of Mexico's Bajío region. The interior is hand-painted in manganese-brown slip with a stylized bird at center, its body inscribed "E.V." and set against a scalloped ground line with flanking botanical sprigs in dot-and-dash work. A looping scroll band occupies the upper field below the rim, and a hatched border ring runs the full interior circumference. The warm orange-red clay body and slip-glaze surface are characteristic of low-fire earthenware production from the region. An old handwritten inventory label affixed to the underside reads: "17,325 / Mexican Pottery Bowl Made by Esteban Valdez, Deceased, S.M.A."

Valdez was among the folk potters working in San Miguel de Allende's loza roja tradition — a lineage distinct from the tin-glazed Talavera centers of Puebla and Guanajuato city. San Miguel attracted sustained collector attention from the mid-20th century forward, and named individual potters from that community, particularly those documented with original provenance labels, represent a traceable strand of Mexican folk ceramics.

CONDITION

Good overall, with no chips, cracks, or losses. The interior glaze surface shows light kiln speckling and minor slip variation inherent to hand production. The old paper inventory label on the underside is intact, with mild tape discoloration at the upper edge.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• 8.25" Diameter × 3.25" H
• Hand-coiled low-fire terracotta (loza roja)
• Manganese-brown slip-painted decoration, interior
• Exterior unglazed; plain terracotta clay body
• Signed "E.V." inscribed within bird motif, interior
• Underside label: "17,325 / Mexican Pottery Bowl Made by Esteban Valdez, Deceased, S.M.A."
• San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale