its sympathetic coefficient of expansion, was an excellent support; many paintings on it have survived with relatively little damage. One of the most delicate and unusual items in my collection is a sixteenth century feather mosaic, figure 3, made by an Aztec artist. It has survived because it was fastened to copper. To my knowledge, the only other example in the United States of a feather mosaic, in somewhat deteriorated condition, is in the possession of The Metropolitan Museum of Art where it at one time was thought to be a fifteenth century Italian work. Sculptured works of art were primarily made from wood although occasionally stone, marble or ivory was used. Ivory sculpture was inevitably done by a highly trained artist, figure 4, (see photograph). Wood sculpture runs the gamut from very crude folk art to work of great design and beauty. With the more refined wood sculpture, the wood was first carved; the face was carved separately if glass or other materials were used for eyes and after the eyes were inserted, the face was glued to the remainder of the head; hands were tenoned into the wrist; and gesso was then applied to the wood. The majority of Santos were completed by one of two methods— estofado, figure 5, or polychromado. Estofado means that fine details were etched into the gesso. The robes of the saint were gold leafed and painted in such a manner that the estofado, the gold leaf, and the pigments were combined into intricate patterns. The last step was to apply the proper colored pigments to the face, arms, hands, etc. The design on the gesso was eliminated in the polychromado method and the artist proceeded directly to the gold leafing or painting. The same procedures were used with carving in three-quarter relief on wood panels or retablos. The term retablo is also used for any panel of wood which contains a painting. All of this work is still done in the Latin countries today but it lacks the beauty and skill which were the hallmarks of the Colonial artist. There were other variations in the making of Santos. In my collection there is a St. Michael whose clothes and wings are made of hand-hammered silver with a floral design. The silver was beaten to the shape of the statue and only the skin of the legs, arms, and face was covered with pigments. Wax was infused with the oil pigments to give a luminescent skin tone, reminiscent of alabaster, to the faces of Mary and Joseph in a Colonial nativity scene. Finally, there is a Santo that appears to be wood, but in reality was made of a fabric impregnated with pigment for color and rigidity. The Colonial artisan who made frames was a superb craftsman, figure 6. As might be expected, many of the frames have suffered the ravages of insects and my own appreciation of the skill of these Colonial artisans has been greatly magnified by the necessity of having to carve a number of frames
San Jose, artist unknown, hand-carved with estofado, 18th century, Mexico, H. 25". The silver staff and crown are from the same period. Figure 5.
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