----- Original Message -----
Just last week I purchased 6 stunning (in looks
and price) terra cotta containers imported from Vietnam.
The Vietnamese terra-cotta is very good. Almost
stoneware. I have several small, bowl-shaped pieces that I found, of all
places, at a dollar store.
I have had a decades-long love affair with
terra-cotta. Can't explain it, but I get rhapsodic over a good piece of clay.
For years all the really good stuff that was on the market, other than small
hand potters, was from Italy, and at a price that offended my Scottish
sensibilities. Still I managed to grit my teeth and buy an occasional
piece. Then Chine came into the market about four years ago with a
product that was nearly as good as the Italian and at a tiny fraction of the
price. It has been interesting to watch the prices of Italian terra-cotta drop
in the face of Chinese competition.
Then there is the Mexican stuff. It disolves in
the rain.
D
