Casserole / Cazuela 1650-1750, Mexico City or Puebla, Mexico Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno del Estado de Puebla, Museo de Arte "José Luis Bello y González," Puebla Photo by Carlos Varillas

As early as the mid-16th century, tin-glazed earthenware was being produced in both Mexico City and Puebla. Although archaeological excavations and guild regulations indicate that both cities produced numerous styles of mayólica throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, it is Puebla that became recognized for the quality of its ceramics. Guild regulations of the 17th century specified three types of pottery: yellow ware (loza amarilla) for cooking; common ware or tableware (loza común); and fine ware (loza fina). Most of what survives today in museum collections is loza fina, which was used infrequently and primarily for decoration. Owing to guild restrictions, availablility of materials, and the popularity of Puebla ceramics, it was not until the late 18th and early 19th centuries that other towns in Mexico, including Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Sayula, and Oaxaca, emerged as important mayólica production centers.