Chest
The dazzling surface of this chest was created using a technique known as barniz de Pasto (Pasto varnish). Translucent resin, extracted by chewing the leaf buds of a tree native to the northern Andes, was stretched thin, cut, and layered to produce a dense pattern of floral, foliate, heraldic, and animal motifs. The prevalence of native fauna, including parrots, jaguars, monkeys, and armadillos, may reference claims that located the earthly Paradise in South America.
Artwork Details
- Title: Chest
- Artist: Unknown artist, Viceroyalty of New Granada (present-day Colombia)
- Date: late 17th or early 18th century
- Culture: Colombia (Pasto)
- Medium: Wood, barniz de Pasto lacquer, silver
- Dimensions: 18 1/8 × 24 7/16 × 11 in. (46 × 62 × 28 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Arduth L. and Stephen O. Evans, 2025
- Object Number: 2025.265
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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