Mostly monumental simple glazed porous pottery, later stoneware, engobe-and sgraffito technics. Before human beings in ceramics, like biblical figures, jewish lower classes.

As regular visitor of the Zoo Artis, Joseph Mendez da Costa made stylized animals, like the very recognizable monkey's (mandrills, maki's and baboons) and owls, received a honorary degree in biology in 1914. Ceramic household/hollow-ware and figures/sculptures in gres stoneware. Used sometimes  salt glaze. He backed also at Pottery factory Delft (1912, P.B.D.)