Nicaraguan Pottery Bowl By Gregorio Bracamonte

ca. 2003

3.625" H x 9.875" D

Hand Coiled Bowl with a Golden Tan Field and a Painted Black Ostrich Motif Design Made in Nicaragua

In Very Good Condition

Gregorio Bracamonte (1949–2019) was a master Nicaraguan potter and sculptor from the traditional pottery village of San Juan de Oriente in the Gran Nicoya region. He is celebrated for reviving and reinterpreting ancient Pre-Columbian (Nicoyan) ceramic techniques, designs, and forms that had largely been lost.

His mother was a traditional potter (coiling large utilitarian urns), and his father was a stone carver. Men traditionally did not make pottery in the village, so Bracamonte broke norms by pursuing it. As a child, he discovered ancient pottery shards, which inspired him to study and recreate Pre-Hispanic designs from history books, photographs, and artifacts.

In the late 1970s, he began producing clay sculptures and vessels inspired by ancient Nicoyan ceremonial pieces. He used traditional methods like stone burnishing and added his own creative expressions. His work often features symbolic, mythological, or animal motifs (e.g., jaguars, serpents, feathered serpents) in vibrant, hand-painted styles that echo Mesoamerican/Mayan/Nicoyan aesthetics. Pieces are frequently signed.