Tile Façade of St. Francis Church / Fachada de azulejos de la iglesia de San Francisco ca. 1730, Acatepec, Mexico Photo by Juan Carlos Varillas Contreras, 2002

In Spain, the production of mayólica was largely supported by various religious institutions. In the 1500s, Phillip II commissioned over 9000 tiles for the monastery of his palace, the Escorial. Table ware was also commissioned for the Escorial bearing the coat-of-arms of the Hieronymites, the order of the monks who ran the monastery. Religious patronage continued in Mexico, where hundreds of mayólica vessels were produced to handle the food storage and dining of the many cloistered orders of nuns and friars, as well as the secular clergy. Religious establishments rented shops and spaces to potters who paid part of their rent with goods produced that would either be used by the convent or monastery, or sold to raise funds for the religious order.