Issue date: 15 Sep, 2017
TRADITIONAL TRADES. POTTER. CERAMICS FROM TALAVERA
This year, Correos is issuing a new series on traditional trades. The series begins with one of the oldest crafts in human history, that of the potter, paying homage to the ceramics of Talavera.
It is presented on a new Premium Sheet, printed on a paper with a clay texture.
From the earliest times, people needed utensils to make their lives easier. This is probably the origin of the potter’s trade, which consists of creating objects from clay or earth.
This activity and its products have always been admired, as shown in works of art by painters such as Velázquez, Goya, Murillo, Zurbarán, and Romero de Torres, who included potters or pottery in many of their creations.
Pottery leads to ceramics, and the protagonist of this stamp, the famous ceramics of Talavera.
Cerámica de Talavera is a type of pottery made in the town of Talavera de la Reina with materials from the Tagus valley, such as earthenware and china clay, and decorated with glazes.
It is used to create utensils, fountains, tile murals and other ornamental elements.
The town has a mark of quality used to distinguish its pottery from others: “Marca de Calidad Talavera Cerámica”.
These products are known world over, and some of the finest examples can be seen in the Ruiz de Luna Pottery Museum.
This museum, in Talavera, was created by the Spanish ceramic artist Juan Ruiz de Luna to display his own collection. After his death its ownership passed to the Town Council.
The stamp, showing hands shaping clay, and a decorated jug, is the first in a series in which Correos will honour the trades and crafts that arose to make our lives easier, hand-in-hand with art and good craftsmanship.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.