Talavera - I immediately saw tiles when looking at this piece. Having initially thought that the tile in my minds eye was Italian, I learnt that they were in fact a mixture of different styles, mainly originating in Spain.
The style most similar to my design are those of traditional Mexican ceramics from the state of Puebla, specifically called Talavera pottery - it is named after the city of Talavera de Reina in central Spain, the only other place outside Puebla to make Talavera.
I went down a ceramic black hole online and found that there are also similatires between tile designs from Argentina, Brazil and Iran, and discovered that Mexican Talavera tiles incorporate Chinese and Arab influences too. Who knew the humble tile had such a cross-cultural influence.
