Pewter of Nicaragua

My quest for Nicaraguan pewter began as a small wisp of an idea. There wasn't a lot of pewter in the markets, and I didn't know any specific artists involved in pewter molding. Nevertheless, it was a journey that drew me along the Managua-Masaya Road to the family workshop and sales area of Enrique Castellon. There I learned that each mold is designed by hand by the artisan, and the pewter is poured, cooled and polished in a painstaking process with few modern aids -- it is almost completely a process managed by individual artisan actions, purposefully and deliberately. The results are beautiful, with unique shapes, vessel types, and surface designs.



As you may know, the new divided highway between Managua and Masaya is a wonderful improvement over the old rutted road, but the relative speed of travel forces one to miss a lot of the charm of the scenery and people. The Castellon workshop is an example of just the kind of charm that is easy to miss. The workshop is hidden behind the corrugated metal fencing just beyond the small open hut that serves as their shop.





To reach their spot on the road, we had to travel beyond them on the divided highway, twirl round the round-about, and make our way back to pull off the road near their shop. The way I remembered their location was to keep a view of the Masaya volcano on my right. Somewhere about when the volcano was in the middle of the my right-hand vision, the Castellon workshop was nearby! Not exactly precise directions, but very Nicaraguan! And the beautiful view of the volcano on one side of the road and the lush expanse of valley and hills on the other made the drive a delight!

In the end, we requested about 5 pieces including platters and bowls, and returned for them a week later. It was well worth the wait! Next visit, I want to find more family pewter workshops and get photos of the artisans at work!