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Rare Aztec Colonial Polychromed Wood Sculpture! Holy Imagene Bultos Santos Icons

About the Item

MUSEUM PERFECTION ! AZTEC INFLUENCED LATIN AMERICAN COLONIAL ART AMAZINGLY RARE PIECE ! Approx. 14" x 8" x 2 1/2" After Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec empire, painting and sculpture schools were set up within missions to produce art for Roman Catholic worship in Spanish America to promote Christian evangelization. The works that emerge from this period are great historic treasures and tell us much about this time in history. Icons were important in this conversion process. Here is an Imagene that was likely employed in a church from the 17th century. It features 5 elaborately carved faces and figures depicting angels and saints. This piece is magnificent for many reasons, but the most important reason is that this piece illustrates the bridge between the Spanish and Aztec art schools. The Aztecs had developed the most splendid feather art in the world. Feather mosaics (arte plumario in Spanish, amantecayotl in Nahuatl), were created by specially trained and talented Aztec nobles. The blue green iridescent color of hummingbird feathers had made them a regular form of tribute to Aztec rulers and art that featured these feathers were incomparable. The Spanish art instructors adopted feathers into traditional Catholic imagery and this piece shows the result of such hybrid. Here feathers are prominently sculpted into the background and were polychromed with sensational hues to reflect the native love and cultural appreciation for feather art. Few feather mosaics survive because of their temporal frailty, but the wood worked feathers in this piece give scholars and collectors a lasting indication of how Aztecs stylistically used the feathers in their pieces. Aztec religious leaders wore headdresses and garments made of feathers - and here these saints appear to be wearing feather headdresses! Even after centuries, the colors of this piece are incredibly compelling. Fragments of the rich blue green pigment that was applied to mimic the hummingbird feathers are still present. The golds, yellows and browns display spectacular understanding of complementary colors. What's more this piece also shows Aztec sun imagery incorporated into the design! On the reverse side of the Saints' faces we see a vivid blue sun burst type design which clearly was an Aztec motif of the period and has no comparable counterpart in Catholic holy treasures. Altogether three sunbursts images are depicted on this work. In all likelihood this work was sculpted by a Spanish taught artisan and then painted by an Aztec schooled artist. The painting on the reverse shows Aztec line work, patterns and coloring. This work is in amazing condition for its age and has been preserved by the arid climate of the southwestern region. The polychroming and pigmentation is still quite visible and is mute testimony to the skills of these talented 17th century artisans and their pigments. The breathtaking quality of this elaborate work indicates it was likely part of a devotional setting in a mission or in the home of a wealthy/important figure and is a rich part of the cultural patrimony of the Latin American region. As an educational tool to see the Aztec symbols, motifs and painting adapted in this new Spanish dominated culture is something extremely important to historians. The conquistadors' bringing peoples into the fold required creating continuity and adapting their own worship objects into the traditional Catholic imagery. This work will make the centerpiece of your prized collection. Historic Aztec Colonial Period Art For Your Priceless Collection !

Dimensions:

Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)

Style:

Spanish Colonial (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood,Polychromed

Place of Origin:

Mexico

Period:

17th Century

Date of Manufacture:

17th century