Description
The history of La Chamba collection
This square baking dish is part of our La Chamba collection, a set of serving and cooking dishes with a timeless and unique design.
La Chamba potters’ village is located on the banks of the Magdalena River, in the state of Tolima. For generations, the know-how of their ancestors, the Panche and Pijao tribes, who made ceramics for ceremonial use, was maintained.
Heirs to this technique, the new ceramists created objects for domestic use, filled their canoes with pots and sailed to nearby villages to sell them on the markets.
Today, the craftsmen and women of La Chamba make dishes and pots of red and black ceramic with the mud they extract from their land.
Women are responsible for grinding, kneading and molding the mud, while men get the wood and cook the pottery in artisanal ovens, after they have dried in the sun.
Each piece is then polished with semi-precious stones, which gives it the slightly shiny appearance characteristic of this Colombian ceramic.
Finally, the black colour is obtained through a smoking technique.
Directions for use
Before using for the first time, we recommend that you fill your dish three quarters full with water or skimmed milk and place it uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes to an hour at 200°C. This will ensure that the ceramic is not porous. However, the pottery can also be sealed after it has been used several times for cooking.
This pottery is mainly intended for the oven, although it can also be used on the flame. It is very heat tolerant. However, care must be taken with sudden changes in temperature, for example by moving it directly from the refrigerator to the oven.
Clean La Chamba dishes with soap and a soft sponge or cloth. If the food is difficult to remove, soak it (not too long) in hot water. We advise you to avoid using abrasive sponges and dishwashers. They will gradually alter its shine and make the clay more porous.
Don’t hesitate to match this dish with other pieces from the La Chamba collection.
