Trastero
New Mexico
18th century
Gift of Mrs. Cyrus McCormick
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The Spanish Colonial collection includes
pieces from Mexico, Central and South America, Puerto Rico,
the American Southwest (New Mexico and Colorado), and the
Philippines. The strength of the collection lies in its
regional focus on New Mexican colonial art, which is enhanced
by examples of art from Spain and other Spanish colonies.
The collection includes not only religious imagery (bultos
and retablos, paintings and prints), but also furniture,
textiles, tinwork, jewelry, ceramics, household utensils,
tools, agricultural equipment, horse gear, silver and architectural
elements. The number of objects (over 3000) and the depth,
scope, and quality of the research supporting it, makes
this one of the most important collections of its kind in
the country.
Highlights from the New Mexican collection include major
pieces by each of the New Mexican 18th and 19th century
santeros (artists who create images of saints):
Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, the Laguna Santero, the Truchas
Master, José Rafael Aragón [bulto], José
Aragón, the Santo Niño Santero, the A.J. Santero,
and José Benito Ortega. Major works by New Mexico’s
carpinteros include trasteros (cupboards)
and excellent examples of chip-carved chests on legs.
The collection of historic Mexican
mayólica (tin-glazed earthenware),
collected in the late 1800s by Houghton Sawyer, is unparalleled
in the U.S. and is supplemented by historic prototypes from
Spain. A rare three-piece Spanish colonial gentleman’s
suit dating to the late 17th century is one of only a dozen
extant examples in the country and has been carefully restored.
A small but impressive collection of Mexican paintings on
tin and copper as well as oils on canvas give a cross-section
of folk and academic painting in colonial Mexico. Silver
work from Mexico, Central and South America includes a superb
17th century processional cross from Guatemala.
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