Tlaquepaque Terracotta & Copper Fruit Centerpiece — Bustamante Style, 10 Pc

Picture the center of a long farm table, a Saltillo-tiled entry hall, or a kitchen island that's been missing its anchor: this is that object. A large polychrome terracotta bowl with a molded rope-twist rim holds nine individually sculpted forms — two mangoes, two squash, a pear, a banana, a ribbed melon, a grapefruit, and an apple — each painted in mottled greens, ochres, terra cottas, and deep reds, and finished with hammered copper and brass calyx caps, stems, and leaf accents that catch light the way nothing flat ever does. At over 24 pounds assembled, it doesn't sit on a table so much as claim it.

The mixed-media construction — painted terracotta bodies with individually formed copper and brass metalwork — is the signature language of Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, the decorative export tradition that flourished outside Guadalajara from the 1960s through the 1980s and is most closely associated with the workshop of Sergio Bustamante, who established his studio there in 1975. Comparable unsigned sets from this tradition appear on the secondary market regularly; complete examples at this scale — 18" bowl, nine intact fruit pieces, no missing parts, no repairs — are a different category entirely.

CONDITION

Good, No Damage. Polychrome surfaces throughout show age-consistent patination and paint wear; copper and brass elements have oxidized naturally to a warm, varied tone. No cracks, breaks, chips, or repairs noted on any piece.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Bowl Height: 4⅛"
• Bowl Diameter: 18"
• Weight (assembled): 24 lbs 8.1 oz
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale