Serra da Capivara ceramics and relics on display in Rio

Contemporary ceramic objects meet artifacts produced 3,400 years ago in the exhibit Serra da Capivara – Man and the Earth, inaugurated last Tuesday (Oct. 3) at the SEBRAE Brazilian Handicrafts Benchmark Center (CRAB), in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

The exhibit brings together works by 32 master ceramicists and rare prehistoric pieces never before displayed from the Museum of the American Man, in the state of Piauí, and is to be on view in Rio up to January 20. Until then, visitors have the chance to compare and contrast pottery produced today and prehistoric pieces.

Another highlight of the exhibit is the research work of Niède Guidon, one of the first archeologists to start studying and fighting for the Serra da Capivara National Park, over 40 years ago.

The Serra da Capivara, in the northeastern state of Piauí, has the largest concentration of archaeological sites in all of the Americans. They provide evidence of human presence in the area over 48 thousand years ago. The discovery helped devise theories on the Bering Strait crossing, turning plateaus and valleys home to stone engravings and prehistoric artifacts into places recognized as world heritage sites by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Stone paintings

Curated by designer Renato Imbroisi, the exhibit showcases works by local ceramicists, with rock paintings reproduced on plates, cups, and trays. Due to the influence of the historical site on local arts and crafts, the curator also brought pieces from the Museum of the American Man to the exhibit.

The exhibit features fragments of urns dating back to over 3 thousand years ago, pays a tribute to Guidon's work, and brings works from the Museum of the American Man with wooden walkways taking visitors to walls with cave inscriptions and the work of current ceramicists. One of the rooms displays pieces and pictures by 32 local ceramicists. The trade flourished in the area in the 1980s, as an alternate income source and a way to fight hunting and protect the historical sites of the Serra da Capivara.

“We've decided to show the fauna and the flora of this place in a totally different way. To display ceramics in 3D, the animals on the pottery... there is a vase where birds walk in search of water,” Imbroisi explains. “Rock ceramics really thrived in the past, it still does, but we've decided to do something different,” he added, with the art that generates income to the families living in the semiarid climates surrounding the park, 500 km from Teresina, state capital of Piauí.

The Serra as a source of inspiration

Towards the end of the exhibit, Guidon appears once again in a video next to artisan Nivaldo Coelho de Oliveira, where she highlights the beauty of the work done and the environmental concern. Clay is collected during drought spells to curb the environmental damage, as sediments accumulate again in the rainy season. She also recounts that the artisan was one of the first to take her to the sites where the archaeological discoveries were made.

“I've known Nivaldo since the 70s. He was one of my guides. Whenever we had to go climbing, we climbed together,” she said. She describes the region as “inspiring.” “The skill of all these artisans is compared to the quality of the work of prehistoric man. It is as if the beauty of the region brought about the need for expression.”

Coelho shows pride. “[The trade] was crucial to me. There were always work opportunities,” he said in a nearly hoarse voice, feeling glad for the recognition.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira