giving them a surreal look. The pieces are usually painted with delicate tones of rose, gray-blue and white on a background of a light coffee color, light gray and sometimes green or blue. Each piece is individually created. The attraction of this pottery is its appearance, as it is too porous to hold any liquid or food. One exception is a water container with a fat body and long neck, with a ceramic cup placed upside down over the neck. These are called botellones are carafes. Most of the pieces with the oldest designs are in barro bruñido, which include pieces with antique floral motifs in indigo and countryside scenes depicting the Valley. Also in the bruñido category are two very large plates by Amado Galvan, a potter from first half of the 20th century who gained fame for his designs which imitate the art of the 19th century. The museum’s betus ceramic collection comes from the community of Santa Cruz de las Huertas. This pottery has a bone colored crystalline finish which is comparable to Japanese ceramics. It is also characterized by vibrant colors that give the ceramics a whimsical look. The name from the betus oil the clayware is immersed in before it is fired. The oil, which is made of a resin extracted from pine trees, gives the painted pottery its brilliant sheen. The main crafter of the barro betus on display is Candelario Medrano. There is one room dedicated to petatillo pottery, including some of the first pieces in this style ever made. Petatillo pieces are distinguished by tightly drawn lines or crosshatching in a red background. These lines are named after straw mats called petates, which they resemble. Above the lines stylized images of plants and animals, especially deer, rabbits, eagles, roosters and swans, are drawn. Often the main figures are banded in black and spare use of green completes the set. This ware is painted before firing, glazed, and then fired again. It is very labor-intensive and rare, mostly showing up on platters. A giant urn in this style can take up to three years to complete. The best known pieces have been made by the Lucano, Bernabé, Vázquez, Pajarito, Jimón and other families. Canelo is named for the color the fired clay turns out, which is various shades of cinnamon (canela in Spanish). It is popular and used mainly for water jugs because