Triumfa España en las Americas (The Triumph of Spain in the Americas)

late 18th century

Not on view

In this Spanish printed cotton, "America" is a Native American female supported on a litter by two young men in a stylized tropical environment. In the sixteenth century, Europeans began personifying the Americas as an exotic native woman. The phrase Triumfa España en las Americas suggests that the designer was attempting to reassure viewers of Spain’s dominance in its American colonies. At the time it was produced, about the end of the eighteenth century, such encouragement would have been justified. For most of the century, Spanish governance in the Americas was destabilized by intense civil conflicts and violent uprisings by people from all spheres of colonial society.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Triumfa España en las Americas (The Triumph of Spain in the Americas)
Date: late 18th century
Culture: Spanish
Medium: Cotton, block printed
Dimensions: H. 16 x W. 30 inches (40.6 x 76.2 cm);
As joined to 59.208.89: H. 15 3/4 x W. 51 1/2 inches (40.0 x 130.8 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Printed
Credit Line: Gift of Estate of James Hazen Hyde, 1959
Object Number: 59.208.63
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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