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Description
Alcazar + OscuraCotto, a Terra Cotta love story. Cotto (from the Italian terra cotta or "baked earth") is part of a long line of fired clays that date back to the dawn of civilization itself. From Egyptian water jugs to Chinese roof tiles to Roman bricks terra cotta has been part of the human story for as long as we've had an alphabet. The materials that go into making our Cotto haven't changed much over the millennia, but the way in which they're fired has evolved.
Cotto, a Terra Cotta love story.
Cotto (from the Italian terra cotta or "baked earth") is part of a long line of fired clays that date back to the dawn of civilization itself. From Egyptian water jugs to Chinese roof tiles to Roman bricks terra cotta has been part of the human story for as long as we've had an alphabet. The materials that go into making our Cotto haven't changed much over the millennia, but the way in which they're fired has evolved. From kiln furniture to mold designs to firing method, our handmade and high-fired Cotto is our modern take on an ancient world tradition.
We make Cotto in Mexico, a country with an incredibly rich history in ceramic arts. The techniques to manufacture our modern terra cotta have their roots in the arrival of the Spanish and the establishment of San Miguel de Allende in 1551. A UNESCO World Heritage site, San Miguel is arguably one the most important colonial cities in all of the Americas. It's also covered in historic terra cotta. From ancient roof tiles to 400 year old floors, it's a city that takes fired clay to a whole new level. It's also the fitting home of our Cotto line.
How It's Made
Made from locally sourced organic clays, our hand crafted Cotto elevates the storied tradition of terra cotta. Each clay formulation is mixed with water and blended to the ideal consistency. The clay mixture is pressed to shape in a mold and allowed to dry for 1-2 weeks. This is to achieve the right moisture level for firing. It's also at this point that wood ash is added to the surface of our "Fired Earth" tiles. The ash is what gives Fired Earth its unique surface coloration. An important note here this process is highly dependent on the weather. San Miguel has a distinct rainy season that can delay drying times by quite a bit! Once dried, tiles are brushed and stacked, ready for the kiln.
What Sets Our Cotto Apart?
Unlike most Cotto or traditional terra cotta, we high-fire our clay at 1260 Centigrade (230 Fahrenheit). What this means is that the terra cotta becomes "semi-vitrified" increasing in density and decreasing in porosity. Special kiln furniture is needed at such high temperatures to ensure the tiles don't warp or bend. It is also the most difficult step in their manufacture, requiring a skilled technician throughout the day and a half firing period. The result is an incredibly durable, highly unique tile that is unlike any other terra cotta on Earth.Shipping Notes
- Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
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Exchange/Return Notes
- We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
- Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
- To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
- Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
4.6 ★★★★★
Based on 347 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Excellently written behind the scenes history
Format: Paperback
This is one of the best books on the irony of the Civil War. It is a different perspective that focuses on the misjudgement and arrogance of the confederacy. Food wars and manipulation of the slaves they were not part of their ill-conceived strategy to establish a states based totally on inequality. Too bad that today's politicans are trying to repeat the same mistakes. I would highly recommend this book to students of the Civil War and anybody who looks at today's politics and wonders where their southern strategy got its roots.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2013
★★★★★ 5
Women and slave power in the C.S.A.
Format: Paperback
Fascinating, well documented description of the influential roles played by women and slaves in the Confederated States of America. The author demonstrates that the principal focus of the C.S.A. was first and foremost on the preservation of its 'peculiar institution', i.e., slavery, and the how this, along with the increasing politization of women, undermined its viabilty in many ways. The author's style is a bit turgid and academic at times, but well worth the effort to gain a better understanding of the Civil War from the South's perspective.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2014
★★★★★ 3
I really enjoyed the premise of this book
Format: Hardcover
It seems to me that, it was a book just waiting to be written. The author covers topics very rarely considered in any detail in other books on the Civil War. She helps cut through some of the romantic mysticism and points out reasons why, as we all suspected, that most of the South (especially the poor) were very much victims of the Confederacy. She also explains in greater detail the way of thinking of the Planter class of the Old South, which still exists today--you can even hear it in the speech of the elites of the Deep South today.
The problem I had with this book, is that the author repeats herself. Some here have said that they don't understand why people are saying that. Let me paraphrase just a couple examples of what I mean. She says , in one paragraph, that "soldiers wives started to become a political constituency for the first time" and explains how. A paragraph later, she ends the paragraph with "becoming a political entity was something new for poor white soldiers' wives". On the next page it says "for poor soldiers' wives, the Civil War was a huge burden, and they came into their own politically". In three pages she might say, "the term soldiers' wives' began to take on political meaning for the first time". Now, that is not repeating yourself with the same words, exactly. But it is repeating concepts that are not that hard to grasp. The book could have been much shorter and, IMHO, much better. I am not sure why the author feels the need to repeat certain points over and over.
Another concept "done to death" was how the Planter class had not considered that a full 1/3 of their population would not only not be soldiers, but also would , in all likelihood, be opposed to them. Now, this would seem obvious to us now, so it is important that she point it out. But once is enough. I hope I am explaining the "repetition problem" a little better here....the topic and concepts were great. Repeating concepts over and over made for, in some places, a very long read.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2013
★★★★★ 5
Fascinating Social History of the Confederacy
Format: Paperback
This was hard to get into in the first chapter. It became more and more readable. It provides a critical look at the untold stories of women
and slaves in the Civil War-the powerless. It shows how poorly conceived the whole Confederate experiment was. When Jefferson Davis
said that the Confederacy would have written on its tombstone "Died of a Theory", he could have said "Died of Many Half-Baked Theories"
about the rights of the powerful over the powerless. There should be much more written about the social history of the Confederacy. One
of the more interesting points the book makes is how little the Southern people had to do with the secession of most of the states. This
was a tragedy of immense proportions.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016
★★★★★ 5
Helpful!
Format: Kindle
What a needed text for the canonical sciences. The glossary and footnote comments were most helpful. The definition of law is most excellent.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2023