Chulucanas Pottery Figure from Peru

This earthenware pottery figure was entirely hand made by an artisan in the small village of Chulucanas in northern Peru.  Before the turn of the century, Chulucanas pottery was made only in this small village and, at first, by very few artisans.  This is a very rare worker figure in green overalls and a yellow safety hat with his hand on a wooden barrel.  Every detail was painstakingly made with the hands and wooden tools, polished with a stone or stones, and then fired in a hand built kiln.  The zipper on the overalls is so real looking that, at first, I thought it was an actual zipper just set into the pottery; but the zipper is made of clay also.  There is even a little removable pottery cork in the top of the barrel.  I sold hundreds of Chulucanas figures during the 1990's that depicted  villagers performing everyday tasks.  Amongst those hundreds and to this date, I have not seen another figure like this one and I rarely saw figures made by Cesar Paz A, who's signature is clearly incised on the bottom of the figure along with the date('95) and Chulucanas.   There are no chips, no cracks, no repairs, no stains, no loss of color, and the figure is in original and "excellent" condition.  This figure measures approx. 6 inches tall and 7 inches wide from the outer edge of the barrel to the outer edge of the man's arm.  A fascinating history of the Chulucanas artisans, their village, and ancestry comes with this piece.