Basin

Damián Hernández

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The shape of this type of basin, called a lebrillo, is rooted in Hispano-Islamic ceramic traditions. In Mexico, the lebrillo was adapted to a variety of uses, both religious and domestic, often distinguishable by the way in which they are decorated. The interior of this basin, glazed in a technique called aborronado, features a woman in contemporary dress surrounded by birds and a dense pattern of dotted foliate decoration. The basin is marked with the initials “he,” which may belong to Damián Hernández, a founding member of the Puebla potter’s guild.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art