Chestnut-bellied Guan Pot

Red clay with glaze, 30 x 16 cm, Artist’s Collection (Photo: Edgar Kanaykõ Xakriabá)

Thirty years ago, the chestnut-bellied guan was common in our territory, but today it’s very rare. My father hunted these birds to feed us. By representing it in ceramic form, I tried to keep the memories of times gone by alive. The chestnut-bellied guan is large, and has a crop below its head. When it flies, it makes a strange and very loud noise.

The glaze was extracted from black rock; white toá, a very soft mineral, was used for the brushstrokes.