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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 4378804, member: 45&quot;]The pot is certainly in the style of Casas Grandes pottery.&nbsp; However, determining whether this is authentic pre-historic Casas Grandes, dating from 1250-1450 A.D., or if it is &quot;Casas Grandes Revival&quot; (today called Mata Ortiz, after the village in Mexico where it is made) dating from the mid-1970&#039;s to the present, really can&#039;t be determined from a photo.&nbsp; No pottery was made in the Casas Grandes region between those dates.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1450 Paquime, the center of Casas Crandes culture burned, and the inhabitants vanished. There are no known descendants.</p><p><br /></p><p>A pottery developed in the area of Mata Ortiz (15 miles north of the Casas Grandes ruins of Paquime), however, and began appearing on the market in the 1970s.&nbsp; And the potters copied Casas Grandes designs from Paquime Ruins.&nbsp; The major market was the U.S. border towns.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The problem was that no one really knew where the pottery was coming from, other than someplace in Mexico, and when Mata Ortiz pottery was finally &quot;discovered,&quot; it was often called &quot;Casas Grandes Revival,&quot; because the pots looked so much like authentic Casas Grandes. </p><p><br /></p><p>The pottery now is officially called Mata Ortiz, and recognized by the Mexican government as contemporary Mexican Art Pottery, since the majority of potters have developed their own styles, and are no longer making copies of Casas Grandes pots.&nbsp; But some of the early pieces were so well-done, that even museums were fooled, and ended up with Mata Ortiz pots in their collections, misidentified as authentic Casas Grandes.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is also the issue that while Casas Grandes pottery was Native American Indian, Mata Ortiz pottery isn&#039;t.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>To quote directly from the “Lesser Known Artisans of Mata Ortiz” research dissertation by Scott H. Ryerson, in KIVA,The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History:&nbsp; “Because it has been suggested that the pottery of Mata Ortiz is Indian-made, the ethnicity of the residents of Mata Ortiz is investigated. The conclusion is drawn that they are neither the descendants of Paquimé nor Indians in any sense in which that term is used in Mexico today.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Claims are still made today, however, that it is Indian pottery, since &quot;Indian&quot; pots generally sell for higher prices than &quot;Mexican&quot; pots. </p><p><br /></p><p>I would suggest that you contact the Amerind Museum and Research Center, in Dragoon, AZ, which has been involved in the Casas Grandes research, about authentication.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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