1650-1680

Tile with a Cherub

Spanish colonists in Mexico and elsewhere in the Americas produced abundant amounts of tin-glazed earthenware, adapting the ceramic traditions of the Mediterranean to the New World. This tile, made for an architectural installation such as a floor or fireplace, shows the variety of influences at play in New Spain. Its bright blue color and decorative scrolls imitate Chinese blue-and-white porcelain of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), whereas the figure of the cherub is taken from European print sources. Spanish colonial potters also found inspiration in the art of indigenous Mexican cultures.