Chulucanas

The region of Chulucanas – in the province of Morropón – produces a type of ceramic officially labeled with the appellation of origin Chulucanas.

The main natural components of Chulucanas pottery are clay, sand, mango leaves, and the climate. For the elaboration of Chulucanas ceramics, the clay is extracted from certain quarries containing mainly yellow clay (arcilla amarilla) and black clay (arcilla negra). These particular types of clay contain divided particles that characterize not only their plasticity, but also their organic content of iron oxide and organic waste. The type of clay is also responsible for giving brightness to the ceramic when it is burnished.

The artisans of Chulucanas use distinctive ancestral techniques from ancient cultures such as the Vicús and the Tallán. Before completion, each ceramic piece will undergo a dozen steps. The artisans mold the raw clay with their hands and feet, then use wooden pallets and stones to shape it better. The first colors, derived from natural sources such as leaves and soil pigment, are added. Then the pieces are placed in an oven and submerged for hours in the smoke of burning mango leaves, which gives Chulucanas pottery its characteristic black color. To complete the piece, the ceramic is polished by hand with a black stone to give it a brilliant shine.

In 2006, the Asociación de Ceramistas Vicús, the Asociación Civil de Ceramistas Tierra Encantada, and the CITE Cerámica de Chulucanas filed a request for the appellation of origin Chulucana, which was registered in 2008.^[10]