Unidentified artist
Missal Stand (Atril)18th century

Not on view

Tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl inlaid lectern or book stand with scalloped base and small bun feet, densely decorated with floral and foliate motifs; central panel features the IHS monogram flanked by symmetrical botanical designs, all bordered by dot-inlaid edges.

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artist
Title: Missal Stand (Atril)
Place Made: Guatemala (for export market, possibly Peru)
Date Made: 18th century
Medium: Wood, inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, brass, and silver
Dimensions: 13 1/4 × 14 1/2 × 9 1/4 in. (33.7 × 36.8 × 23.5 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2019.264.3
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Missal stands were ubiquitous in churches and domestic altars to support the sacred books from which the priest read during Mass. Here, the central panel is decorated with the Jesuit monogram IHS, symbolizing Christ. The work was meticulously conceived to highlight the beauty of the contrasting materials and the blossoming vines with their bold flowers, including carnations and tulips.

Because of their materials and their designs that vaguely resemble Asian decorative arts, these works have been difficult to categorize. Scholars have suggested that they were imported aboard the famous Spanish trading ships—known as the Manila Galleons—that traveled annually between the Philippines and Mexico. But archival and material documentation suggests that such works originated in Guatemala, where mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were harvested locally and considered prized commodities. Many items made of these materials were exported to Mexico and Peru. The designs draw on a range of European and Asian sources, which local artists creatively reinterpreted.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: Carlos Washington Aliseris (1898–1974), Montevideo, Uruguay, first half of the 20th century; by inheritance to his daughter Raquel Aliseris Bernadá, Montevideo, 1974; by inheritance to her son Ignacio Labaure Aliseris, Montevideo, 1986; Jaime Eguiguren Art & Antiques, Buenos Aires, 2019; LACMA, 2019.
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 artist
Missal Stand (Atril)18th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artist
Title: Missal Stand (Atril)
Place Made: Guatemala (for export market, possibly Peru)
Date Made: 18th century
Medium: Wood, inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, brass, and silver
Dimensions: 13 1/4 × 14 1/2 × 9 1/4 in. (33.7 × 36.8 × 23.5 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2019.264.3
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Missal stands were ubiquitous in churches and domestic altars to support the sacred books from which the priest read during Mass. Here, the central panel is decorated with the Jesuit monogram IHS, symbolizing Christ. The work was meticulously conceived to highlight the beauty of the contrasting materials and the blossoming vines with their bold flowers, including carnations and tulips.

Because of their materials and their designs that vaguely resemble Asian decorative arts, these works have been difficult to categorize. Scholars have suggested that they were imported aboard the famous Spanish trading ships—known as the Manila Galleons—that traveled annually between the Philippines and Mexico. But archival and material documentation suggests that such works originated in Guatemala, where mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were harvested locally and considered prized commodities. Many items made of these materials were exported to Mexico and Peru. The designs draw on a range of European and Asian sources, which local artists creatively reinterpreted.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: Carlos Washington Aliseris (1898–1974), Montevideo, Uruguay, first half of the 20th century; by inheritance to his daughter Raquel Aliseris Bernadá, Montevideo, 1974; by inheritance to her son Ignacio Labaure Aliseris, Montevideo, 1986; Jaime Eguiguren Art & Antiques, Buenos Aires, 2019; LACMA, 2019.
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