Gerardo Ortega Barro Betus Rooster — Tonalá Jalisco Folk Art

Few pieces stop a room like a Gerardo Ortega rooster in full flower. The gloss-black barro betus body — fired in the centuries-old Tonalá tradition using pine resin oil — serves as a dramatic canvas for dozens of individually hand-sculpted and painted clay flowers, birds, and leaves covering nearly every inch of surface. The fanned tail opens into elaborately painted feather panels in green, yellow, pink, and red; the red comb and wattles carry fine teardrop detailing; vivid yellow legs rise from a green-and-red oval base. The density of applied ornament here places this example at the high end of the workshop's output.

Ortega's rooster is the family's signature form across four generations of barro betus mastery in Santa Cruz de las Huertas, Jalisco — and signed examples in this condition rarely surface outside of specialty dealers. Signed "Ortega" in black paint on the base.

CONDITION Excellent. No damage, chips, or losses to applied flowers, painted panels, or base. Colors vivid and fully intact throughout.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Height: 12"
• Width: 7"
• Depth: 12.5"
• Weight: 5 lbs
• Medium: Barro Betus clay, hand sculpted and painted
• Origin: Santa Cruz de las Huertas, Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico
• Signed: "Ortega" on base
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale