On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Chest
The dazzling surface of this chest was created using a technique known as barniz de Pasto (Pasto varnish). Translucent resin, extracted by chewing the leaf buds of a tree native to the northern Andes, was stretched thin, cut, and layered to produce a dense pattern of floral, foliate, heraldic, and animal motifs. The prevalence of native fauna, including parrots, jaguars, monkeys, and armadillos, may reference claims that located the earthly Paradise in South America.
