Unknown artist, Deer-Shaped Perfumer, 1800s. Silver; 9 × 7 in. Gift of the Robert C. Appleman family, 1992.385.

height: 9 in, 22.8600 cm; width: 7 in, 17.7800 cm

Mayer Center, Latin American Art

Latin American Art

When Francisco Pizarro and his small army arrived in Peru in 1532, to their delight they found that gold and silver were abundant. Indigenous cultures had a long tradition of metalworking techniques, including filigree, casting, and hammering. Silversmiths from Spain began to immigrate to the Americas shortly after the conquest and introduced European forms and styles. Through time the synthesis of Indigenous and European styles became integrated, culminating in the lush excesses of colonial Baroque and Rococo metalwork.
     Filigree, or metal lace, as it was aptly called, is the technique of fashioning objects from thin metal wire. An ancient technique in both Europe and the Americas, it continued to be used throughout the Spanish colonial era. This image of a deer was used as a censer. Incense, such as copal, could be lighted and placed inside the vessel where the smoke would escape through the wire framework to perfume a room.
--Donna Pierce, 2015

Gifted 30 June 1992 by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Appleman to the Denver Art Museum. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.

• “Stampede: Animals in Art” — Denver Art Museum, 9/10/2017
• “ReVision: Art in the Americas” — Denver Art Museum, 10/24/2021 – 7/17/2022