First Museum of Talavera

Room 1. Introductory. This room introduces visitors to the talavera poblana production processes and its UNESCO designation as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Room 2. Processes. Five pieces illustrate talavera-making from clay modeling, glazing, stencil work, decoration and the finished glazed ceramic piece; the room includes labels and images that support museography and pedagogy. Room 3. Video. A screen presents a video on talavera history and artisan interviews. Room 4. Del lebrillo del Moro. Lebrillos and tibores of various designs and eras show the cultural blending among Arabs, Spaniards, Chinese and New Spain that produced what we now call Puebla talavera; emphasis on the Moro lebrillo from the late 17th century with Oriental influence; Puebla as a clear example of cultural mestizaje; the José Luis Bello y González collection. Room 5. Platones. Platones featuring mostly 20th-century contemporary designs and anthropomorphic sculptures and tibores; the room includes replicas of 20th-century photographs of iconic city buildings, including Patio de los Azulejos as an example of talavera in Puebla’s Baroque architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. Room 6. Sala Contemporánea. The room preserves the original crescent-shaped hearth of the building, indicating it was once a kitchen; the hearth is part of the museographic discourse as the base for an installation of art objects; it features two talavera chairs with a contemporary design respecting traditional motifs and moving art. Room 7. Del Querubín. The final room is named Del Querubín because it houses an anthropomorphic talavera sculpture dating to the late 17th century that crowned the lantern on the cupola of the Capilla del Rosario in the Santo Domingo temple in Puebla; it dialogues with contemporary Puebla talavera pieces and the room also preserves its original hearth and basin, evidencing its original vocation. Finally the site features a large Patio tiled in glazed ceramic tiles; architecturally the Patio serves a versatile function hosting lectures, concerts, workshops, dance and theater when weather permits, as it is an open-air space.