Central American Collectibles and Curiosities

Sideboard crafted from walnut, featuring four drawers and a pair of double doors. The sides are adorned with carved scroll details. Expertly crafted, the piece retains traces of its ...

For sale is a good quality George III mahogany sideboard. The sideboard has three drawers across the top, each with ring handles. These are above to bowed cupboards, one opening to r...

18th century painting of San Geronimo, oil on canvas laid on wood board. It was later placed in a restored 19th century wood and gesso frame. There is no signature.

18th century spanish polychromed tabernacle, niche for the display of Santos. Original finish in somber tones of ochre and siena.

This charming English wooden barrel from the late 19th century showcases rustic elegance with its sturdy construction. Likely crafted from vertical wooden slats, possibly oak, this b...

This late 18th-century Peruvian bargueño is an outstanding example of Spanish Colonial craftsmanship, featuring vibrant hand-painted decoration and intricate hardware. The front pane...

A lovely antique Spanish Colonial hand carved and painted wood santo altar figure - religious folk art sculpture. 18th/19th century, possibly earlier, most likely depicting Saint F...

19th century Spanish Colonial carved giltwood Triptych of Virgin Mary & Christ Child Late 19th century, South America Of exceptional quality, the hinged three panel devotional ic...

Late 18th Century George III Period Bowfront Sideboard. Features a mahogany framed case with cross banding, inlay and striping throughout. Includes a large central hand dovetailed ...

French Provincial walnut cabinet or server featuring a rectangular top over a conforming case fitted with three small drawers with applied diamond design over a two cupboard doors th...

An exceptional example of Spanish Colonial style, born in Mexico in the 19th century, this large hand carved and painted santo religious folk art altar f...

MUSEUM PERFECTION ! AZTEC INFLUENCED LATIN AMERICAN COLONIAL ART AMAZINGLY RARE PIECE ! Approx. 14" x 8" x 2 1/2" After Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec empire, painting and sculpture schools were set up within missions to produce art for Roman Catholic worship in Spanish America to promote Christian evangelization. The works that emerge from this period are great historic treasures and tell us much about this time in history. Icons were important in this conversion process. Here is an Imagene that was likely employed in a church from the 17th century. It features 5 elaborately carved faces and figures depicting angels and saints. This piece is magnificent for many reasons, but the most important reason is that this piece illustrates the bridge between the Spanish and Aztec art schools. The Aztecs had developed the most splendid feather art in the world. Feather mosaics (arte plumario in Spanish, amantecayotl in Nahuatl), were created by specially trained and talented Aztec nobles. The blue green iridescent color of hummingbird feathers had made them a regular form of tribute to Aztec rulers and art that featured these feathers were incomparable. The Spanish art instructors adopted feathers into traditional Catholic imagery and this piece shows the result of such hybrid. Here feathers are prominently sculpted into the background and were polychromed with sensational hues to reflect the native love and cultural appreciation for feather art. Few feather mosaics survive because of their temporal frailty, but the wood worked feathers in this piece give scholars and collectors a lasting indication of how Aztecs stylistically used the feathers in their pieces. Aztec religious leaders wore headdresses and garments made of feathers - and here these saints appear to be wearing feather headdresses! Even after centuries, the colors of this piece are incredibly compelling. Fragments of the rich blue green pigment that was applied to mimic the hummingbird feathers are still present. The golds, yellows and browns display spectacular understanding of complementary colors. What's more this piece also shows Aztec sun imagery incorporated into the design! On the reverse side of the Saints' faces we see a vivid blue sun burst type design which clearly was an Aztec motif of the period and has no comparable counterpart in Catholic holy treasures...