18-19th Century, Manalai, Birmania, Gilded Wood with Glassware Inlays Standing

This beautiful piece emerged from the graphic compendium Costumes civils, militaires et religieux, du Mexique civil, work of the renowned Italian artist Claudio Linati (1 February 1790 – 11 December 1832), written in French and printed in Brussels in 1828. This original and signed watercolor is the outcome of Linati’s artistic values and expert lithographic technique. In words of the author “I have chosen the most elegant gears, as well as the most bizarre, like the one on this plate, which may contrast by its severity with the alluring of the more feathery costume of the palencanas. (…) The basket carried by the woman is carefully made of woven cane. For a better characterization of the country, this young native female carries an anona, known among the Spaniards as pineapple due to its similarities with the pinecone”. This plate is the sole image of the style composition prevailing in Costumes civils, militaires et religieux, du Mexique civil consisting in precise details of costume and material culture, as can be recognized in the representation where even though the female figure is placed in the foreground, the focus of the image falls into gear: a blue checkered shawl and skirt.

Created in the 19th century, this hand-painted piece is the product of one of the richest artistic traditions in Mexico: the technique of lacquer known as “Maque”. A typical example ...