GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Jesuits established missions in northeastern Peru, far from the silver trade and embellished churches of Lima and Cuzco. In order to encourage local participation in the church, the Jesuits commissioned painted textiles made through traditional practices to convey Christian ideas. Produced on plain weave cotton fabric with local colorants, this curtain presents the Crucifixion and the Passion, the final periods from the life of Jesus.
On the textile, the right hand of Jesus makes the sign of blessing, while blood on his arms conveys suffering. Biblical figures Mary and John the Evangelist stand to either side looking upward. The central crucifixion of Jesus is emphasized through the inclusion of two thieves on crosses. A skeletal Death with his scythe suggests the limbo escaped by the good thief, while a devil awaits the impenitent thief. Symbols of the Passion include the veil of Veronica, the Crown of Thorns, and a cord-encircled column. The visually didactic imagery suggests that the curtain veiled a church altar during Lent, to focus contemplation on the days preceding Easter.
Excerpt from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text, 2015.
NOTES
- Probably 18th century, NOT updated by KJones in TMS.
- Updated culture, period, medium, and geography in TMS to reflect Inca label -- Spanish Colonial, Colonial period, Cotton and dyes or pigments (was formerly Cotton, painted with dyes or pigments), Perú: Loreto province.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Spanish Colonial (Spanish Renaissance-Baroque styles / styles and periods): AAT: 300107033
Colonial Latin American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300018082
Colonial Spanish American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300343841
Geography
Peru (nation): TGN: 1000056
Viceroyalty of Peru (Virreinato del Perú / New Peru): DMA
Loreto (region): TGN: 1000675
Process/materials
textiles (visual works): AAT: 300014063
textile materials: AAT: 300231565
cotton (fiber): AAT: 300183670
pigment: AAT: 300013109
dye (colorant): AAT: 300013029
dyeing: AAT: 300053049
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
painting (coating): AAT: 300161986
weaving: AAT: 300053642
plain weave (process): AAT: 300312167
tabby (process): AAT: 300312167
warp: AAT: 300227930
weft: AAT: 300227934
selvedge (textile components): AAT: 300227893
Historical periods
Spanish Colonial (Spanish Renaissance-Baroque styles / styles and periods): AAT: 300107033
Colonial Latin American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300018082
Colonial Spanish American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300343841
Individuals
Jesus Christ (Christian figure): DMA
Virgin Mary (Blessed Virgin Mary / Christian figure): DMA
Virgin Mary (Blessed Virgin Mary / Christian figure): CONA: 1000032
Subject terms
coverings: AAT: 300205009
Lenten veils (altar veils): AAT: 300215214
altar veils: AAT: 300391086
altar cloths: AAT: 300204864
brown (color): AAT: 300127490
black (color): AAT: 300130920
cream (color): AAT: 300266242
white (color): AAT: 300129784
grey (color): AAT: 300130811
green (color): AAT: 300128438
borders (ornament areas): AAT: 300010252
bands (decorative): DMA
plant-derived motifs: AAT: 300164599
flower (motif): AAT: 300375563
flowers (plants): AAT: 300132399
floral patterns: AAT: 300010135
stars (extraterrestrial bodies): AAT: 300387654
Jesuit (Christian order): AAT: 300148103
missions (settlements): AAT: 300008486
mission churches (buildings): AAT: 300007517
missionaries: AAT: 300025764
churches (buildings): AAT: 300007466
Christianity: AAT: 300073711
crucifixions (executions): AAT: 300404300
crucifixes: AAT: 300248835
crosses (motifs): AAT: 300010044
passion cycles: AAT: 300256501
passions (document genre): AAT: 300380304
Lent (religious seasons): AAT: 300162822
signs (declaratory or advertising artifacts): AAT: 300123013
blessing (religious function): AAT: 300137784
blood: AAT: 300011797
suffering (sensation / psychological concepts): AAT: 300055184
standing: AAT: 300239500
male: AAT: 300189559
female: AAT: 300189557
figures: AAT: 300189808
Bible stories: AAT: 300263184
John the Evangelist, Saint: DMA
thieves: AAT: 300025841
skeletons (animal components): AAT: 300191778
skull (skeleton component): AAT: 300191856
deaths: AAT: 300151836
scythes (agricultural equipment): AAT: 300024371
Death (allegorical character / figure): CONA: 1000239
Death (allegorical character / figure): DMA
limbo (concept): DMA
purgatory (concept): AAT: 300379822
good (philosophical concepts): AAT: 300410286
evil (philosophical concepts): AAT: 300410285
devils (spirits): AAT: 300379005
veils (headcloths): AAT: 300046128
sudaria (face cloth / costume accessories): AAT: 300263206
Veronica_Saint: ULAN: 500340188
crowns (headdresses): AAT: 300046020
crowns (costume components): AAT: 300213000
thorns (plant material): AAT: 300011912
cord (fiber product): AAT: 300014247
columns (architectural components): AAT: 300001571
didactic art (genres): AAT: 300069193
altars: AAT: 300003725
Easter: AAT: 300069057
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1985: Private collection [1], [2]
1985-1990: Mr. and Mrs. Duncan E. Boeckman, Dallas, purchased at auction, "Pre-Columbian Art," Sotheby's, New York, May 31, 1985, lot 49 [1], [2], [3]
From 1990: Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the above [3], [4]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Appraisal by John A. Buxton, ArtTrak (dated July 19, 1991, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is Sotheby's New York, Pre-Columbian Art, Friday, May 31, 1985 (New York, NY: Sotheby's, 1985) (copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. No other supporting information found in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object Files. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[4] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation’s collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1990.149.FA
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
The Jesuits established missions in northeastern Peru, far from the silver trade and embellished churches of Lima and Cuzco. In order to encourage local participation in the church, the Jesuits commissioned painted textiles made through traditional practices to convey Christian ideas. Produced on plain weave cotton fabric with local colorants, this curtain presents the Crucifixion and the Passion, the final periods from the life of Jesus.
On the textile, the right hand of Jesus makes the sign of blessing, while blood on his arms conveys suffering. Biblical figures Mary and John the Evangelist stand to either side looking upward. The central crucifixion of Jesus is emphasized through the inclusion of two thieves on crosses. A skeletal Death with his scythe suggests the limbo escaped by the good thief, while a devil awaits the impenitent thief. Symbols of the Passion include the veil of Veronica, the Crown of Thorns, and a cord-encircled column. The visually didactic imagery suggests that the curtain veiled a church altar during Lent, to focus contemplation on the days preceding Easter.
Excerpt from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text, 2015.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Probably 18th century, NOT updated by KJones in TMS.
- Updated culture, period, medium, and geography in TMS to reflect Inca label -- Spanish Colonial, Colonial period, Cotton and dyes or pigments (was formerly Cotton, painted with dyes or pigments), Perú: Loreto province.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Spanish Colonial (Spanish Renaissance-Baroque styles / styles and periods): AAT: 300107033
Colonial Latin American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300018082
Colonial Spanish American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300343841
Geography
Peru (nation): TGN: 1000056
Viceroyalty of Peru (Virreinato del Perú / New Peru): DMA
Loreto (region): TGN: 1000675
Process/materials
textiles (visual works): AAT: 300014063
textile materials: AAT: 300231565
cotton (fiber): AAT: 300183670
pigment: AAT: 300013109
dye (colorant): AAT: 300013029
dyeing: AAT: 300053049
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
painting (coating): AAT: 300161986
weaving: AAT: 300053642
plain weave (process): AAT: 300312167
tabby (process): AAT: 300312167
warp: AAT: 300227930
weft: AAT: 300227934
selvedge (textile components): AAT: 300227893
Historical periods
Spanish Colonial (Spanish Renaissance-Baroque styles / styles and periods): AAT: 300107033
Colonial Latin American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300018082
Colonial Spanish American (Spanish Colonial / styles and periods): AAT: 300343841
Individuals
Jesus Christ (Christian figure): DMA
Virgin Mary (Blessed Virgin Mary / Christian figure): DMA
Virgin Mary (Blessed Virgin Mary / Christian figure): CONA: 1000032
Subject terms
coverings: AAT: 300205009
Lenten veils (altar veils): AAT: 300215214
altar veils: AAT: 300391086
altar cloths: AAT: 300204864
brown (color): AAT: 300127490
black (color): AAT: 300130920
cream (color): AAT: 300266242
white (color): AAT: 300129784
grey (color): AAT: 300130811
green (color): AAT: 300128438
borders (ornament areas): AAT: 300010252
bands (decorative): DMA
plant-derived motifs: AAT: 300164599
flower (motif): AAT: 300375563
flowers (plants): AAT: 300132399
floral patterns: AAT: 300010135
stars (extraterrestrial bodies): AAT: 300387654
Jesuit (Christian order): AAT: 300148103
missions (settlements): AAT: 300008486
mission churches (buildings): AAT: 300007517
missionaries: AAT: 300025764
churches (buildings): AAT: 300007466
Christianity: AAT: 300073711
crucifixions (executions): AAT: 300404300
crucifixes: AAT: 300248835
crosses (motifs): AAT: 300010044
passion cycles: AAT: 300256501
passions (document genre): AAT: 300380304
Lent (religious seasons): AAT: 300162822
signs (declaratory or advertising artifacts): AAT: 300123013
blessing (religious function): AAT: 300137784
blood: AAT: 300011797
suffering (sensation / psychological concepts): AAT: 300055184
standing: AAT: 300239500
male: AAT: 300189559
female: AAT: 300189557
figures: AAT: 300189808
Bible stories: AAT: 300263184
John the Evangelist, Saint: DMA
thieves: AAT: 300025841
skeletons (animal components): AAT: 300191778
skull (skeleton component): AAT: 300191856
deaths: AAT: 300151836
scythes (agricultural equipment): AAT: 300024371
Death (allegorical character / figure): CONA: 1000239
Death (allegorical character / figure): DMA
limbo (concept): DMA
purgatory (concept): AAT: 300379822
good (philosophical concepts): AAT: 300410286
evil (philosophical concepts): AAT: 300410285
devils (spirits): AAT: 300379005
veils (headcloths): AAT: 300046128
sudaria (face cloth / costume accessories): AAT: 300263206
Veronica_Saint: ULAN: 500340188
crowns (headdresses): AAT: 300046020
crowns (costume components): AAT: 300213000
thorns (plant material): AAT: 300011912
cord (fiber product): AAT: 300014247
columns (architectural components): AAT: 300001571
didactic art (genres): AAT: 300069193
altars: AAT: 300003725
Easter: AAT: 300069057
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1985: Private collection [1], [2]
1985-1990: Mr. and Mrs. Duncan E. Boeckman, Dallas, purchased at auction, "Pre-Columbian Art," Sotheby's, New York, May 31, 1985, lot 49 [1], [2], [3]
From 1990: Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the above [3], [4]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Appraisal by John A. Buxton, ArtTrak (dated July 19, 1991, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is Sotheby's New York, Pre-Columbian Art, Friday, May 31, 1985 (New York, NY: Sotheby's, 1985) (copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. No other supporting information found in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object Files. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[4] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation’s collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1990.149.FA
source file
object_notes_4_a-0296.xml.nores