This Isleta tin retablo is in excellent condition. The four glass sides are painted on the reverse showing a wavy pattern in red, yellow and green. The print is of an angle guiding the Christ child and it’s advertising a doctor’s remedy with pills. It reads in English: Dr. Ross’s Life Pills, A Surefire Remedy.
The legend of Santa Librata is a certainly interesting: the daughter of a king, she was betrothed to a man she did not wish to marry, so she took a vow of celibacy to prevent the marriage. The day after she took the vow, she sprouted a beard, and her suitor departed. Her angry father […]
This is a beautiful Mexican, tin retablo of Our Lady of Sorrows. The condition is very good and the color contrasts strong. The bird on her left on top of the pillar is particularly sweet. Our Lady of Sorrows refers to the Virgin Mary, highlighting her intense suffering during the Passion of her son, Jesus. This […]
This is one of the finest Kiowa strike a light bags that I have seen. The front design is bold and powerful – a simple tower built by steps of white, deep blue, and burgundy beads all set on a lighter blue background. The sides are trimmed with white beads. The back is beaded on […]
This tin mirror still holds the original mirror. The extravagant flairs around the border are characteristic of the Rio Arriba workshop. The corners each have a bulbous arm coming out and angling back. The top is a complicated array of shapes culminating with a circle in the center. The tin is all punched with designs […]
19th Century oil on tin retablo La Mano Poderosa, or The Powerful Hand of God – sometimes referred to as Los Cinco Personas, a reference to the extended Holy Family in the upper quadrant. The five figures at the top represent Anne, Mary, Santo Nino, Joseph, and Joachim. In the lower quadrant, blood is flowing […]
This is a wonderful and powerful ex-voto, a prayer of thanks for the healing of a baby. The art on it is austere, making it all the more potent. The mother sits in a barren room with three walls visible, a tiled floor and a darkened ceiling. The baby is bundled in her arms. She […]
This is a wonderful awl case that shows good age and is quite early. It is a highly decorated case. The hide is buffalo, and there are 4 layers each defined by a ring of tin cones. Beads line the top edge. There is a brass button attached to the top on one side. The […]
This soft canteen is likely made with buffalo hide. The hide is very pliable and not stiff. But it is thick so it holds its shape very well. The epidermis side (the inside of the hide) is used as the outside of the canteen. The epidermis has been left intact as it’s a natural water […]
