Bowl with pedestal

The dessert dishes or glasses are typical pottery forms of the Nariño-Carchi area. They differ in size, techniques and decorative designs. Apparently, their function was to present solid or liquid food, such as chicha (fermented corn). This kind of container is one of the objects used in festivals and ceremonies. Many of them stand out by being decorated with negative painting. This type of painting has been one of the greatest achievements of the region. This is not only because it was invented there, but also because it presents its best decorative expression inside and out of the vessels, including the use of positive painting in red or black. The negative painting was achieved through a wax bath in some areas, painting the rest of the surface. Upon cooking, the heat melted the wax, leaving the ceramic color exposed. In these cases, the circles with inner white dots stand out.