The Mexican chocolate jar inspired by Chinese porcelain

The chocolate jar, made in Mexico and housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, resembles Chinese blue-and-white porcelain samples. Called “Talavera poblana,” this style of tin-glazed earthenware has been made in the central Mexican town of Puebla since the 16th century. This chocolate jar would have been used to store valuable commodities like cacao beans.
The name “Talavera poblana” refers to the majolica-producing city of Talavera de la Reina in Spain. Talavera emulated the designs of fashionable imported Chinese ceramics, present in cosmopolitan Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries and transmitted to Mexico during the colonial period.
The blue-and-white ornamentation features panels composed of fringed curtains and scrolled leaves that frame long-tailed birds, a popular motif that may recall Chinese export Swatow ware.