Artists in the town of Pasto in present-day Colombia employed a resin from the mopa mopa tree to create their distinctive lacquer, known as barniz de Pasto (Pasto varnish). Layering the resin over silver leaf, they added a sparkling metallic sheen that recalled imported Asian lacquerware. Real and fictitious creatures—birds, monkeys, unicorns, dragons, and snail-like beings—drawn from Indigenous, Asian, and European sources populate the chest’s decoration, demonstrating the fluid circulation of imagery across the region.
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 wood object. The heat bonded the materials, and the resulting lacquer provided a durable, waterproof surface, which made the works highly appealing.
Ilona Katzew
2024
