...the most essential piece of pottery made in Oaxaca.

THE MIXTEPEC COMAL PLATTER

The comal is the most essential piece of pottery made in Oaxaca. There is no corner of Oaxaca where people do not scrape together what clay they can to make comals, the platters upon which tortillas are cooked. Without comals there would be no tortillas. Without tortillas there would be no Oaxaca. The Mixtepec comals are the most beautiful in all of Oaxaca, and probably in all the world. They are made sumptuously thin, of a bright terra cotta clay that is rubbed to a high sheen. They are fired, stacked like pancakes, each comal separated from the one below by little piles of pine bark or saw dust. The pine bark, fire and smoke play across the surface of the comals, painting them works of art in blacks, oranges, reds, and yellows.

You can use your comal to make tortillas, toast chili peppers or fry eggs. But we recommend hanging it on the wall next to your Picasso, placing on the mantle with your Ming dynasty plates, or putting out in place of the Italian crystal as a fruit platter.

Using a Mixtepec comal to cook tortillas. For use the comal is coated with lime to provide a non-stick Pre-Columbian "teflon" surface.