Pottery history has it’s share of odd tales. This is an odd tale.
The Concise Encyclopedia of Continental Pottery and Porcelain mentions a Central American “scented clay.” Pots made from this clay were supposedly popular in 17th century Spain. I lived a for a few years in Central America. I regularly interacted with local potters, anthropologists, archeologists, cultural ministry personnel, and other field workers on several ceramics related projects during my time there. None of us had ever heard of such a clay.
But that’s not the odd part. There really was a sort of scented clay – rather a clay that caused flavored effervescence and aroma in water kept in burnished pots made from it. This pottery was called “Tonalá Bruñida.” The bright red extremely low fired clay wasn’t from Central America however. It was mined uniquely in Guadalajara, Mexico. And every Central American knows that Mexico is part of North America. Water in Tonalá pots (until the mine tapped out in the 18th century) fizzed even more when stirred.
But that’s not the odd part. Aristocratic Spanish ladies were crazy for Tonalá water jars and mugs. Drinking from these vessels caused a psychotropic, almost opium-like effect. The visiting French Countess D’Aulnoy described how after drinking this water the Spanish ladies “went into a trance. Their stomachs became distended and hard and their skin turned into a yellow color like that of a quince.”
But that’s not the odd part. French ladies hated Tonalá. They thought water kept in these pots tasted like dirt. They got no psychotropic thrill from drinking the water. They were disgusted by the smell of it.
That’s probably not so odd. Anyway, the very low temperature at which Tonalá was fired made it extremely fragile. Breakage was common. That was a good thing, because the Spanish ladies got an extra buzz by eating the broken shards and dust. This was positively too barbaric for the French ladies. Even the adventurous Countess D’Aulnoy, who gave it a try, later confided “I would have preferred to eat sandstone…”
The odd part (to me anyway) is how this situation was seemingly looked upon as simply a ladies “vanitas” activity. Bubbly, intoxicating drinks and chewy, cosmic pottery? Where were the gentlemen?
Readings:
Cerámica y Cultura. Gavin, Pierce and Pleguezuelo, eds. University of New Mexico Press/Albuquerque. 2003.
The Concise Encyclopedia of Continental Pottery and Porcelain. Reginald Haggar. Hawthorn Books/New York. 1960.
This Day in Pottery History 