Unidentified artist
Chest (Cofre)17th-18th century

Not on view

Small dome-lidded chest covered in dark leather with allover gilded floral and vine decoration, with iron strap hinge and keyhole escutcheon on the front

Dome-lidded casket covered in dark leather with gilt-painted floral scrollwork and animal figures; iron hasp and oval keyhole escutcheon on the front.

Dome-lidded wooden chest covered in dark tooled leather with dense relief decoration of birds, animals, and scrolling foliage in dark red, gold, and brown tones; metal strap hinges and hardware at corners and sides.

Leather-covered box with arched lid, dark brown surface tooled and gilt with dense foliate scrollwork; front panel depicts a leaping quadruped among birds and flowering plants; metal hinge and clasp visible at right.

Rectangular box with arched lid, covered in dark leather or lacquered material with embossed and gilded decoration of birds, animals, and dense scrolling foliage across all surfaces.

Cylindrical leather case with gilt and polychrome painted floral and vine decoration covering the surface, fitted with two metal strap fasteners and a central clasp, showing significant age and wear.

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artist
Title: Chest (Cofre)
Place Made: Colombia, Pasto
Date Made: 17th-18th century
Medium: Wood, barniz de Pasto, and silver fittings
Dimensions: 6 3/4 × 9 1/8 × 5 1/4 in. (17.2 × 23.2 × 13.3 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2008.34
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Mopa mopa—a translucent pale-green resin used by pre-Hispanic peoples in the area of Pasto, Colombia—is the principal medium for the lacquerware known as barniz de Pasto (Pasto varnish) produced in Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador from colonial times through the present day. The sticky resin from mopa mopa tree leaf-buds was treated, dyed, and made into sheets. Decorative designs were cut from the stretched sheets and applied, with heat, to a wooden object. The heat bonded the materials, and the resulting lacquer provided a durable, waterproof surface. This technique was often used to mimic the appearance of Asian lacquer.

Ilona Katzew, 2008
Provenance: Private collection, Porto, Portugal; Pedro Aguiar Branco, Porto; L. Codosero, Galería de Arte Antiguo, Madrid, 2005; LACMA, 2008.
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. 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. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024

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