Unknown artist, Chest with Engraved Decoration, early 1800s. Spanish cedar with zulaque-filled engravings and wrought iron lock; 19⅜ × 35½ × 18⅞ in. Gift of the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Plácido Arango Arias, 2017.118.

height: 19 5/16 in, 49.0538 cm; width: 35 1/2 in, 90.1700 cm; depth: 18 13/16 in, 47.7838 cm

Mayer Center, Latin American Art

Latin American Art

This object is currently on view

During the colonial period a number of towns became well-known manufacturing centers specializing in furniture. Among the most famous was Villa Alta de San Ildefonso, a small town in the Zapotec mountains in Oaxaca, Mexico, where this chest was made. The piece is decorated with incised engraved motifs, possibly taken from European prints, and filled with a black paste called zulaque made with resins and charcoal pigment. The piece may have furnished a private home and was possibly used to store textiles and other personal items.

-- Jorge Rivas Pérez, Frederick and Jan Mayer Curator of Latin American Art, 2019

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.