Zapotec Barro Negro Jaguar - Mexican Black Clay - Oaxaca Pottery Jaguar - retailer Stamped Leather Look

We love working retailer with this artist. Her technique of using barro negro and covering it with a brown glaze gives it the most amazing appearance of stamped leather. Her quality is unmatched.


Human cultures in the past believed in the existence of a duality between man and nature, in which a person might adopt the attributes, traits, or abilities of an animal with whom they shared a spiritual connection. This isn't unique to Oaxaca. Egyptian, Sioux, Apache, and First Nation peoples of current-day Canada all shared similar beliefs.

Toná was the name the Zapotecs gave to the guardian animal, and it was identified with each individual from the day of their birth. When a child was born, the father drew a circle of lime and mezcal at the house's entrance to learn the child's toná.

The circle was left overnight, and the scent of it attracted spirits in the form of animals. The father would go outside the next morning and look for the animal's tracks that had been protecting the entrance all night. Throughout the child's existence, the animal that corresponds to those tracks would be the child's protective toná.

Still in existence today is a Zapotec calendar that recognizes 20 tonás which include the jaguar, the eagle, the serpent, the frog, the dog, the hummingbird, the owl, the turtle, the mockingbird, the iguana, the possum, the chameleon, and many more.

This stunning jaguar is made in the fashion to honor the traditional Zapotec toná. It is intricately carved in exquisite detail, and would look amazing hanging on your wall!

Barro Negro is a unique and important tradition for the Zapotec people in Oaxaca, Mexico. It was around over a thousand years before the Aztecs entered the picture, and it is still widely made today in the Central Valley region surrounding Oaxaca City where the special clay is found.

We hope to bring more pieces from this artist in the future. We make sure that we purchase everything using Fair Trade practices. We do not haggle with artists or vendors, and we do not ask for volume discounts. Our mission is to bring beautiful pieces here that we love, and we think others will love while supporting the amazing artists in Oaxaca who have lost so much of their livelihoods when the pandemic has brought to a halt weekly festivals and outdoor markets.