Botijo

{{Short description|Clay water container}}

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File:Botijo arcilla greda lou.jpg

A botijo, also called búcaro in Spanish, càntir in Catalan,{{Cite web |title=càntir |work=Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana |language=ca |location= Barcelona |url=https://www.enciclopedia.cat/gran-enciclopedia-catalana/cantir-0 |access-date=2023-07-17}}{{Cite web |title=Museu del càntir {{!}} ARGENTONA |url=https://www.museucantir.org/ca |language= Catalan, Spanish, English|access-date=2023-07-17 |website=www.museucantir.org}}{{Cite web |publisher=Agència Catalana del Patrimoni, Generalitat de Catalunya|title=Un càntir per a cada funció: les tipologies |url=https://visitmuseum.gencat.cat/ca/museu-del-cantir-d-argentona/ambit/un-cantir-per-a-cada-funcio-les-tipologies |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=Visitmuseum · Catalonia museums |language=ca, oc, es, en, fr}} canabarro in Galician,{{Cite web |title=canabarro |work=Dicionario da Real Academia Galega |url=https://academia.gal/dicionario/-/termo/canabarro |access-date=2023-07-17 |publisher=Real Academia Galega |language=gl}} txongil in Basque, and boteja in Hispanic America, is a traditional porous clay container designed to contain water.{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/botijo-jug|title=The Art, Science, and Allure of Spain's Water-Cooling Jugs|first=Ignacio|last=Amigo|date=August 22, 2019|website=Atlas Obscura}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/l/let-them-eat-clay/|title=Let Them Eat Clay!|first=Online Museum|last=Victoria and Albert Museum|date=November 10, 2011|website=www.vam.ac.uk}} The botijo, or water jar, is a typical element of culture in many parts of Spain and may vary in shape and color. Although the botijo can, exceptionally, also be found in glass, metal or even plastic, it is usually and traditionally made of clay, due to the properties of this material, such that, once the botijo is filled, it cools the water that it contains, acting as an evaporative cooler.{{Cite web |title=How to Keep Beverages Cool Outside the Refrigerator |url=https://www.notechmagazine.com/2012/04/botijos.html |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=www.notechmagazine.com}}

The botijo has a wide belly and one or more mouths where it is filled and one or more outputs, called pitón or pitorro (in Spanish), to drink from.{{Cite web |title=BOTIJO |url=https://etimologias.dechile.net/?botijo |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Etimologías de Chile - Diccionario que explica el origen de las palabras |language=es}}

File:Botijo Argárico de Beniajan.jpg botijo of the Argaric culture. Beniaján (Murcia), Spain]]

The oldest botijo found on the Iberian Peninsula belongs to the Argaric culture and was discovered in the necropolis of Puntarrón Chico (Beniaján), near the capital of the Region of Murcia, where it is preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Murcia. It is an important piece in the historiography of ceramics, being a 'closed work' with a single hole of {{convert|2|cm|abbr=on}} and the handle placed on the top; the dimensions of the pitcher are {{convert|11|x|9.5|cm|abbr=on}}. {{cite book|author-link=Emilio Sempere|date=2006|first=Emili|last=Sempere Ferrándiz|page=88|publisher=Les Puntxes|title=Historia y arte en la cerámica de España y Portugal. De los orígenes a la Edad Media}}

The búcaro de Indias is a special type, made of fragrant clay from Mexico, that was prized in Europe.{{cite web | url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/662163 | title=Covered jar | Mexican }}