Stonemasonry and Lapidary
Stone masonry and lapidary are Michoacan arts that carve hard stone.
Cantería
Quarrying is the craft activity dedicated to carving hard stone, not fine, as is the case of different basalts, some of volcanic origin and the quarries are usually black or pink.
Its main manifestation is noted in the city of Morelia, Tlalpujahua and Tzintzuntzan, mainly with works related to architecture, fountains, water filters and other ornamental and utilitarian products.
Lapidary
Volcanic stone is appropriate for making utensils such as metates and molcajetes, since it is solid and does not crumble when food is prepared.
Metates and molcajetes are indispensable utensils in Michoacán’s traditional cuisine and are generally made by men.
Each piece is sculpted from a single rock, either a metate with its “mano” or a simple or zoomorphic molcajete with its tejolote.
They take approximately two days or more to make, depending on the size and details.
In Michoacán, quarry stone has played an important role as a raw material, as can be seen in archaeological pieces from pre-Hispanic towns and in buildings from the Viceroyalty period.
Although the term lapidary refers to the carving of precious stones or inscription and engraving on them, in Michoacán it includes the elaboration of utilitarian products such as figures, molcajetes or metates on porous volcanic stone.
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