Chest

first half 18th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 636

The dazzling surface of this chest was created using a technique known as barniz de Pasto (Pasto lacquer). 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.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Title: Chest
Artist: Unknown artist, Viceroyalty of New Granada (present-day Colombia)
Date: first half 18th century
Culture: Colombia (Pasto)
Medium: Wood, barniz de Pasto lacquer, silver
Dimensions: 18 1/8 × 24 7/16 × 11 in. (46 × 62 × 28 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Arduth L. and Stephen O. Evans, 2025
Object Number: 2025.265
Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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