Unidentified artists
Altar Frontal Plaque with Angel (Placa de frontal de altar con ángel )17th century

On view:

David Geffen Galleries, The Silver That Moved the World

Silver or silver-toned metal relief panel with a winged cherub face at center, surrounded by symmetrical acanthus scrollwork and a leaf-decorated border, worked in repoussé

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artists
Title: Altar Frontal Plaque with Angel (Placa de frontal de altar con ángel )
Place Made: Viceroyalty of Peru, possibly Puno or Cuzco
Date Made: 17th century
Medium: Repoussé and chased silver
Dimensions: 11 1/8 × 10 in. (28.3 × 25.4 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2006.196
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Elaborately decorated silver plaques adorned church altars across the Viceroyalty of Peru and were shipped around the world, including to Jerusalem. This fragment was originally nailed to a wood armature as part of a larger ensemble (note the holes around the perimeter). The plaque represents the head of an angel framed by three pairs of wings—likely a seraph or other angel of high rank. The delicate feathers of the wings demonstrate the level of skill with which the plaque was crafted, even when meant to be viewed from a distance. Surviving altars suggest that this plaque with an angelic head may have been a central element. It was likely made in Puno or Cuzco, although there were several centers of silver production across Peru. While silver plaques offered a more durable altar covering than traditional textiles (see, e.g., M.66.71), their prized material also made them susceptible to repurposing and plunder. Today, this finely wrought plaque stands as an isolated vestige removed from its original setting.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Provenance: Carl Dreyer Spohr (1895–1975), Puno, Peru, after 1924; by inheritance to Augusto Dreyer Costa (b. 1949), Peru and Canada, c. 1975; Nobuko Kajitani, New York, late 1980s; David Bernstein Fine Arts, New York, 2005; LACMA, 2006.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024

Related Exhibitions

Unidentified artists
Altar Frontal Plaque with Angel (Placa de frontal de altar con ángel )17th century

On view:

David Geffen Galleries, The Silver That Moved the World

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artists
Title: Altar Frontal Plaque with Angel (Placa de frontal de altar con ángel )
Place Made: Viceroyalty of Peru, possibly Puno or Cuzco
Date Made: 17th century
Medium: Repoussé and chased silver
Dimensions: 11 1/8 × 10 in. (28.3 × 25.4 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2006.196
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Elaborately decorated silver plaques adorned church altars across the Viceroyalty of Peru and were shipped around the world, including to Jerusalem. This fragment was originally nailed to a wood armature as part of a larger ensemble (note the holes around the perimeter). The plaque represents the head of an angel framed by three pairs of wings—likely a seraph or other angel of high rank. The delicate feathers of the wings demonstrate the level of skill with which the plaque was crafted, even when meant to be viewed from a distance. Surviving altars suggest that this plaque with an angelic head may have been a central element. It was likely made in Puno or Cuzco, although there were several centers of silver production across Peru. While silver plaques offered a more durable altar covering than traditional textiles (see, e.g., M.66.71), their prized material also made them susceptible to repurposing and plunder. Today, this finely wrought plaque stands as an isolated vestige removed from its original setting.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Provenance: Carl Dreyer Spohr (1895–1975), Puno, Peru, after 1924; by inheritance to Augusto Dreyer Costa (b. 1949), Peru and Canada, c. 1975; Nobuko Kajitani, New York, late 1980s; David Bernstein Fine Arts, New York, 2005; LACMA, 2006.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024