Chest

Chest

18th century
Artist
unknown artist
Country
Colombia
Object
chest, chest
Medium
Barniz de Pasto and silver leaf on wood and silver
Accession Number
2015.545
Credit Line
Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer

Unknown artist, Chest, 1700s. Barniz de Pasto and silver leaf on wood and silver; 15¼ × 22½ × 10¼ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2015.545.

Dimensions
height: 15 1/4 in, 38.7350 cm; width: 22 1/2 in, 57.1500 cm; depth: 10 1/4 in, 26.0350 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Latin American Art
Collection
Latin American Art
This object is currently on view

This chest’s intricate, colorful decoration is known as barniz de pasto, an Indigenous, lacquer-like technique named for the original center of production in San Juan de Pasto, in southern Colombia. Later, workshops arose in Popayán and Bogotá that produced pieces in the same technique. Barniz de pasto is derived from the gum of the Andean mopa-mopa shrub, which is then chewed and stretched to create a thin resin varnish, often with pigment added, and applied to the wooden surfaces of pieces of furniture like this one. In pre-Hispanic times, the technique was used by the Inca to decorate ceremonial kero cups. In the colonial era, polychromed silver leaf was used in tandem with the resin.

Chests such as this one, which often feature exotic flora and fauna, were luxury items enjoyed by the elite men and women of the viceroyalties of New Granada and Peru. The chest shows the survival and repurposing of pre-Hispanic techniques and materials in the colonial era.

– revised by Kathryn Santner, Frederick and Jan Mayer Fellow of Spanish Colonial Art, 2023

Known Provenance
Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.
Exhibition History
  • "Personal Effects: Art and Home in South America," since November 2012, Denver Art Museum.
  • "Glitterati: Portraits & Jewelry from Colonial Latin America," December 2014 - December 2016, Denver Art Museum.