Cultural Heritage

HANDICRAFT

Although the traditional craftsmen are each time scarcer, the effort to maintain this activity and often recuperate the handicraft tradition is giving way to the fruitful and hopeful revival of this activity. Nevertheless, it still remains a quite unknown world, as a good part of the handicraft production does not enter the commercial circles and is often limited to isolated individuals who practice it more as a hobby, for their own use or as gifts to family and friends.

For its abundance and dissemination is the pottery making, whose most important production comes from Ronda, Estepona, Coín, Málaga, Torremolinos, Cártama, Fuengirola, Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga. Other interesting and beautiful types of ceramic production are in Málaga (tiles, enamels, designed ceramics, terracotta, modelling and mangers), Alhaurin de la Torre (designed ceramics and terracotta), Benalmádena (designed ceramics), Casabermeja (decorative ceramics), and Villanueva del Rosario (earthenware figures).

Wood is another outstanding handicraft activity in the province of Málaga, with a special mention of the furniture making, not only for the interesting commissioned production, among which are Ronda and Marbella (the imitation antique furniture and olive wood -as in Alameda- and also copper frames), but also for varnishing, painting and gilding (Málaga), styled furniture (Málaga), upholstery (Málaga and Marbella) or restoration (Málaga and Ronda).

As well as the wood related handicraft, the province has an interesting production of other woodworks. This basically extends over the region of the Guadalhorce valley, the municipalities of Casares (artistic doors), Ronda, Antequera, Mijas, Vélez-Málaga, Riogordo, Torrox, Torremolinos (inlaid work and marquetry), and Málaga (traditional boats - such as the historical fishing smack -, stringed instruments, marquetry and inlaid work, modelling, carving and imagery). Ronda also counts on an interesting production of stringed instruments.

The metal handicraft is very extended over the province, with iron works (Ronda, Antequera, and Malaga offer excellent works in railing forging and lamps. Another quite extended material is corrugated iron which is used above all in Antequera and Ojén); brass is also worked and copper in Málaga, Ronda, and Marbella where there are also interesting bronze works.

Regarding vegetable fibres, this type of handicraft is very extended and presents a great variety of materials (cane, esparto grass, palm, wicker, sorghum, pita, hemp, olive, and reedmace), but it isn’t always easy to acquire as most of the production is still dedicated to domestic use or the usual work in rural areas and to find it you have to go to the shops in the towns which still sell these articles. The municipalities where you can find this kind of handicraft on sale with a tourist character are Ronda, Antequera, and Ojén (esparto); Vélez-Málaga and Benamocarra (basketry); Cártama (palm), Casares (plaiting), Málaga (wicker and reedmace). Some beautiful products, related with the folklore such as the hats of the ‘verdiales’ groups can be acquired on request in towns such as Almogía or Comares.

The handicraft related to textiles and leather are also quite extended, but among all the production there is the leather footwear in Ronda, Marbella, and Málaga, as well as the leatherware from Mijas, Fuengirola, and Málaga. Leather clothes and dress complements are important in Campanillas, but this production is each time more industrialized. Another place where leather and skin handicrafts can be acquired is Igualeja. In Málaga, there are also interesting embroideries and fretwork, lace and tapestries as well as a small production of dolls. Embroidery and fretwork can also be found in Marbella.

Other handicraft productions which are less extended are those related to jewellery and glass. The handicraft jewellery can be found in Málaga, Mijas and Fuengirola; in the latter’s municipality you can also find goldsmiths and in Mijas there are some who work with silver and alpaca. Regarding the glass, the production is even scarcer and is basically found in Málaga, with the modalities of glass sculpting, artistic glasswork and painting on glass.

To complete this fast and compact course through the provincial handicraft, we have to mention the marble carving made in Marbella, the toy making and dolls of Málaga and the handicraft binding, also in Málaga.