MANTEL x Terra Candle Holder 013, Barro Negro, H 12cm W 5cm
An organic, sculptural hand built candle holder by MANTEL x Terra, using Barro Negro
In collaboration with Terra Mexico, we have co-designed a collection of one off hand built candle holders using Oaxacan Barro Negro clay, made by the organisations founder Corinne Aivazian. Corinne is a visual artist whose work explores notions of the land, through clay and film. Her work has been exhibited/ collected by organisations including The British Ceramics Biennial and The Tate Archive. She is also a long time friend of Mantel, and founder of Maison Salvadore in France, where the two of us originally met. She now lives in her husband’s native Mexico.
I have travelled to Mexico extensively, having learnt jewellery making in a small mountainside town north of Mexico City back in 2014. I collected Barro Negro pieces during my travels, and the opportunity to create our own designs with Mexican artisans using this ancestral clay is something we have been developing through conversation for the last few years.
Each candle holder is completely unique and full of character, with an emphasis on visible hand craftsmanship, texture and play. A truly collaborative process, we shared sketches, references and ideas, built maquettes during a summer in France, before Corinne built the final pieces, with the help of artisan Maestra Magaili who has been generously collaborating with Terra for nearly three years.
These candleholders have been highly burnished (hand polished with a river stone) to create the beautiful gun metal finish that is characteristic of Barro Negro.
Barro Negro is a magical clay, heavy with history. It’s only found deep within one carefully, guarded pit not far from the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec. Archeological relics have shown us that it was known to the indigenous peoples in the region, who fired the pieces to temperature turning the clay a light grey or white. However, it was the extraordinary Doña Rosa, who revived the town's pottery reputation in the 1950’s by combining burnishing techniques used elsewhere with a lower firing that allowed the unique properties of the clay to shine through creating a deep black surface, which glows from within.
Height: 12cm
Width (at base): 5cm
Width of candle hole: 2cm
An organic, sculptural hand built candle holder by MANTEL x Terra, using Barro Negro
In collaboration with Terra Mexico, we have co-designed a collection of one off hand built candle holders using Oaxacan Barro Negro clay, made by the organisations founder Corinne Aivazian. Corinne is a visual artist whose work explores notions of the land, through clay and film. Her work has been exhibited/ collected by organisations including The British Ceramics Biennial and The Tate Archive. She is also a long time friend of Mantel, and founder of Maison Salvadore in France, where the two of us originally met. She now lives in her husband’s native Mexico.
I have travelled to Mexico extensively, having learnt jewellery making in a small mountainside town north of Mexico City back in 2014. I collected Barro Negro pieces during my travels, and the opportunity to create our own designs with Mexican artisans using this ancestral clay is something we have been developing through conversation for the last few years.
Each candle holder is completely unique and full of character, with an emphasis on visible hand craftsmanship, texture and play. A truly collaborative process, we shared sketches, references and ideas, built maquettes during a summer in France, before Corinne built the final pieces, with the help of artisan Maestra Magaili who has been generously collaborating with Terra for nearly three years.
These candleholders have been highly burnished (hand polished with a river stone) to create the beautiful gun metal finish that is characteristic of Barro Negro.
Barro Negro is a magical clay, heavy with history. It’s only found deep within one carefully, guarded pit not far from the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec. Archeological relics have shown us that it was known to the indigenous peoples in the region, who fired the pieces to temperature turning the clay a light grey or white. However, it was the extraordinary Doña Rosa, who revived the town's pottery reputation in the 1950’s by combining burnishing techniques used elsewhere with a lower firing that allowed the unique properties of the clay to shine through creating a deep black surface, which glows from within.
Height: 12cm
Width (at base): 5cm
Width of candle hole: 2cm
An organic, sculptural hand built candle holder by MANTEL x Terra, using Barro Negro
In collaboration with Terra Mexico, we have co-designed a collection of one off hand built candle holders using Oaxacan Barro Negro clay, made by the organisations founder Corinne Aivazian. Corinne is a visual artist whose work explores notions of the land, through clay and film. Her work has been exhibited/ collected by organisations including The British Ceramics Biennial and The Tate Archive. She is also a long time friend of Mantel, and founder of Maison Salvadore in France, where the two of us originally met. She now lives in her husband’s native Mexico.
I have travelled to Mexico extensively, having learnt jewellery making in a small mountainside town north of Mexico City back in 2014. I collected Barro Negro pieces during my travels, and the opportunity to create our own designs with Mexican artisans using this ancestral clay is something we have been developing through conversation for the last few years.
Each candle holder is completely unique and full of character, with an emphasis on visible hand craftsmanship, texture and play. A truly collaborative process, we shared sketches, references and ideas, built maquettes during a summer in France, before Corinne built the final pieces, with the help of artisan Maestra Magaili who has been generously collaborating with Terra for nearly three years.
These candleholders have been highly burnished (hand polished with a river stone) to create the beautiful gun metal finish that is characteristic of Barro Negro.
Barro Negro is a magical clay, heavy with history. It’s only found deep within one carefully, guarded pit not far from the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec. Archeological relics have shown us that it was known to the indigenous peoples in the region, who fired the pieces to temperature turning the clay a light grey or white. However, it was the extraordinary Doña Rosa, who revived the town's pottery reputation in the 1950’s by combining burnishing techniques used elsewhere with a lower firing that allowed the unique properties of the clay to shine through creating a deep black surface, which glows from within.
Height: 12cm
Width (at base): 5cm
Width of candle hole: 2cm
