The Ceramic

PERU HAS BEEN A LAND OF VERY EMINENT CERAMISTS SINCE ANCESTRAL TIMES. AT THE PRESENT TIME, MASTERS ARE DIRECT HEIRS OF THOSE ANONYMOUS PRE-COLUMBIAN CRAFTSMEN, WHO ACHIEVED HIGH DEXTERITY AT THE ELABORATION OF CERAMICS. IT IS POSSIBLE TO FIND A GREAT VARIETY OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS AND TECHNIQUES OF CERAMIC AND POTTERY ALL OVER PERU. IN SEVERAL CASES, THESE TECHNIQUES HAVE REMAINED UNCHANGED FOR CENTURIES.

Technical Data:
- Origin: The oldest ceramic piece found in Peru dates back to 1800

  B.C.
- Diffusion: It is basically represented in the entire country. Being

  the most important ones include works in Chulucanas, Simbila

  (Piura), Santiago de Pupuja, Pucara (Puno), Quinua (Ayacucho),

  the ethnic group Shipibo-Conibo (Amazonian rainforest).
- The ceramics of Chulucanas have origin denomination granted by

  INDECOPI. (Institute for the Defense of Competition of the

  Intellectual Property)

 MILLENARY ART
The oldest ceramic sample in Peru was found in the archaeologist center of Guanape located in the valley of Viru (La Libertad) and was made around the year 1800 B.C. (early formative period). This piece has a flat and rough finish and is exhibited in the second room of the National Museum (the origins of the Andean civilization). Vicus, Mochica, Recuay and Nasca achieved masterly high levels of the elaboration and decoration of ceramics, among all pre-Hispanic cultures. Vicus, developed in the highlands of Piura around 500 B.C., had ceramics of fine finish, as it is shown in the picture. They represented figures of human beings, animals and plants, as well as erotic scenes. Their techniques were adopted and perfected by the Mochica culture. Nevertheless, Nasca ceramic stands out in its polychromy.

CHULUCANAS
The inhabitants of this village, located in the province of Morropon (Piura), considered themselves heirs of the Vicus culture. Judging by the quality of their ceramic, their claim could be right. The elaboration process is absolutely traditional. First of all, the potters soak the clay for three days in a big hole made in the ground. In this fashion, they get a uniform material that is mixed with sand and mould by feet.
The pieces are formed by using a wooden pallet and a rounded stone and exposed to the sun for several hours, from early in the morning until past noon. Then they are taken to a kiln made on the ground. Only the fine ceramic pieces use a two-door kiln.
Among the well known pieces of this culture stand out "los silbadores", big bowls known as "potos" and the small ones named "cojuditos". The personalities of this region are also a source of inspiration. We can find vases shaped like washerwomen, lactating mothers, chicheras, minstrels, and also others depict animals as "piajenos" and doves. There are big and small vessels made for ornamental functions, as well. At present, vessels are interiorly covered with glass and their production increases for utilitarian and exportation purposes

SIMBILA
Pottery is also the main activity of this farmstead located in the district of Catacaos, Piura. As is usual in other localities, pottery is a family business and their techniques are passed from one generation to another. These techniques are secretly kept by these craftsmen. The production of ceramics in Simbila consists of three types: pots and vats for the chincheras; cooking pots, casseroles and other pieces of domestic use and decorative pieces. The pieces are commercialized in Piura, Tumbes, La Libertad and some of them are even brought to Lima.

CUSCO
In Cusco, there are numerous pottery centers that preserve some of the Incan techniques in ceramic elaboration. In this region, the most extended technique is used for shapes of different size plates. The clay paste is powdered with volcanic sand or ashes with the intention of keeping it separate from the mould. This is a vessel with the same shape resting on a plane stone base. Ceramic is a highly significant economic activity for the population of Cusco, especially for the surrounding villages of Pisaq. Their inhabitants buy ceramic pieces from the pottery centers in order to decorate and sell them in the weekly fair visited by an important number of tourists.

QUINUA
The district of Quinua is located in the province of Huamanga, Ayacucho, where a high quality production of ceramics can be found. The clay known as "llinco" is used in two different colors; red and beige. The ceramists in Quinua specialize in objects with ritual purposes but they also elaborate house-stuff. However, the most representative pieces of the ceramic of Quinua are the churches, which protect houses from evil spirits according to the Andean imagination. Also common are the bulls of Quinua that are placed on the roofs to protect the houses from lightning and watch over the cattle. Unlike the bull of Pucara, the one of Quinua is strong and massive and has small horns that look like protuberances on their heads. The ceramists of Quinua grind the clay with a mortar and sift it with a "susuy". Then, it is mixed with water and treaded, using goat skin (chapuy) until they obtain the ideal texture. After that, the paste is worked in a manual wheel. When the desired shape is obtained, the surface is flattened with a kallwa, a half moon shaped wooden instrument. The llampuy, an S shaped metal bar, is used to clean the residues of the material. A carved cane is utilized to shape the figure details. To finish the piece, it is polished and let dry under the shadow for one or two months with the intention of avoiding fissures. Only after all this process has been performed they proceed to place the piece in the kiln.

THE SHIPIBO-CONIBO (UCAYALI)
Grouped in 116 communities, the shipibo-conibo occupy the central basin of Ucayali, the rivers Pachitea, Calleria, Aguaytia, Tamaya and Yarinacocha lake. Among them, ceramics is mainly a woman’s job. Women dedicate around seventy hours a week to elaborate their pieces. The technique, which is very difficult to learn, is passed from mothers to daughters. The shipibo designs are ethnic emblems utilized to reaffirm their identity. The curve designs represent the single young men and the rivers that go through their lands. The fine lines represent the number of people present in the anti sheati ritual (great liberation), which is a rare ancestral ceremony.
The shipibo women mix the fresh clay with ashes and pieces of grinded ceramic. After preparing a clay circular base, they place the long narrow stripes in spiral shape modeling the object. Afterwards, they use the rough skin of a jungle fruit (tutumo) to polish. They don’t make any sketches before drawing the designs. First the main and thicker lines are defined on black or red on the white base. The fine lines are scraped with needle and complex designs are sketched. Once they finish with the design, the piece is let to dry under the shadow and sun. Then it is put close to the kitchen fire and place in the kiln with burned pieces of wood around it. At the end, the piece is finished with "lacre" (tree resin), a sealing wax that provides the piece with a shiny and smooth texture.
The women produce a series of utilitarian objects, like vessels known as "chomo", used for water transport, and bigger ones called "maqueta" (1.20 meters), used to ferment "masato", a typical jungle beverage. Besides that, other pieces are produced to be sold to the visitors of the region.

THE BULLS OF PUCARA
These pieces have kept their traditional forms until the 1960s, and nowadays they are elaborated in Santiago de Pupuja, Anzagaro province (Puno). The originals were light pink with a drab or coffee colored head and horns. They were used in the ceremony of "señala cuy", when the cattle was marked. During the last decades, the elaboration of dark or bright bulls with green colored tongues and horns has become more common. In the past every bull was handmade, but at present and due to an increasing demand, many of them are made out of moulds. Every bull is placed in the kiln twice. The first time, called "bautizo" (baptism), is used to cook the clay. Then, the ornaments are set; the piece painted and place back in the kiln to fix them to the clay.

Web Pages:
- Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Hoyle (Archaeological Museum 

  Rafael Larco Hoyle) http://museolarco.perucultural.org.pe
- Museo de Arqueología Josefina Ramos de Cox del Instituto Riva

  Agüero de la Pontificia. Universidad Católica del Perú (Museum of

  Archaeology Josefina Ramos de Cox of the Riva Agüero Institute

  of the Catolica University of Peru) http://www.pucp.edu.pe/ira/
- Museo del Banco Central de Reserva (Reserve Central Bank

  Museum) http://museobcr.perucultural.org.pe

The Retablo of Ayacucho

ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED PERUVIAN ART EXPRESSIONS, THE "RETABLO" IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE HIGH DEXTERITY REACHED BY THE CRAFTSMEN OF AYACUCHO. IT HAD A MAGIC-RELIGIOUS ORIGIN, BUT WITH THE TIME, THE "RETABLO" HAS LOST SOME OF THAT CHARACTER TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE PRODUCTION OF CUSTOM SCENES, FOLK FESTIVITIES AND PERUVIAN TRADITIONS WITHOUT LOSING THE ESTHETIC EXCELLENCE.

Technical Data:
- It is an artistic expression from the region Ayacucho since XVIII

  century.
- In 1941, the painter and collector Alicia Bustamante named it as

  "retablo".
- The term derives from the Latin word retobulus o retrobulae (what

  goes behind the table)

FROM "SANMARKOS" TO "RETABLO"
The Spanish tradition of having portable altars and nativity scenes, known as "belenes" was well received in the Andean world. Among other things, the boxes that had Saints figures and other sacred effigies were used to watch over houses and travelers who carried them. The closest antecedent to the retablo is the sanmarkos or San Marcos box. It was developed around XVIII and XIX centuries as a tribute to San Marcos, patron Saint of cattle. Emilio Mendizabal defined it as a "huaca", a sacred object, in which the Andean and European animal protectors were put together. Even now the sanmarkos is used to preside the ceremony of the "herranza" (branding), or Santiago festivity to summon the spirits that live in the mountains, however the "retablo" continued evolving. In the decade of 1940, creative ayacuchanos and intellectuals from Lima, who belonged to the indigenous shift, gave an impulse to the rebirth of this form of art. The artist, Joaquin Lopez Antay, assumed the challenge of the creation of new pieces. Thanks to their influx, the "retablo", as we know it nowadays, doesn’t reproduce only religious scenes at the present time.

STRUCTURE
The retablos are big rectangular boxes, normally made out of cedar. As a matter of fact, there are no standard measures, but the classic retablos are about 32 centimeters high and 26 centimeters wide. The background, where the figures are placed, is about 6 centimeters deep. The bottom is generally covered with a thin piece of wood and the doors are attached to the box with leather stripes. In a different way than the sanmarkos, retablos show scenes related to custom and religious motives, such as processions, bullfights and cockfights. They exhibit pregnant virgins and long neck Saints and they also represent patriotic manifestations as military parades or personalities, presidents, generals, countrymen and heroes. They are even used to depict political allegories. Customers can generally suggest the motive they want to see in their retablos. These new ways of manifestation are characterized for the esthetical value and not for the ritual character. A large number of retablos have modified their dimensions and were divided into five floors. They left behind their rectangular shape to acquire rounded forms and changed their coronations or highest part. There are new ones made out of match or bubblegum boxes, plaster guitars, canes, egg shells and "mates" (dried fruit of the pumpkin).

RETABLOS: ART EVOLUTION
The art of building portable altars is highly appreciated for the carefulness and dedication required to elaborate them; its past is related to magic-religious world and its narrative capacity.

THE EVOLUTION
The format of the wooden box with carved figures hasn’t only changed in form but in content, loosing its magic-religious character.

Box of imaginative chucuitena (Type 1)
Made out of wood, stucco and in some cases gold leaf, they show images in the central part and relieves in the internal part of both doors which are open to give the appearance of a triptych.

Box of imaginative chucuitena (Type 2)
The materials are similar, however with time; they have being impoverished due to robbery suffered by the carriers of the retablos.

Healer chapel (XVIII century)
They are similar, though they don’t have doors. They show the protector Saint of each family. They were kept in a specific place of the house and were not transported during trips.

Alms givers (XIX century)
These were boxes with a small money box, allowing the owner to use the alms that the image would receive.

The sanmarkos (XIX century)
This is the direct antecedent of the retablo as we know it nowadays. It is a Cajon with magic-religious attributions related to fertility. It is divided into two parts. In the upper world (hanan pacha) live the Saints, among them San Marcos, patron of the bovine cattle. In the inferior world (kay pacha) are represented by daily scenes.

THE RETABLO OF AYACUCHO
In XX century, the religious images in the boxes gave birth to daily scenes. Represented by sculptor groups of more complexity, the folk festivities, customs and traditions acquired more presence.

THE WORD "RETABLO"
It is originally a group of large dimensions located behind the altars of churches.

MATERIALS
The figures are elaborated with a paste made of boiled potato mixed with plaster. The structure is often made out of wood.

JOAQUIN LOPEZ ANTAY (HUAMANGA, 1897-1981)
Was a key figure during the transformation from the sanmakos to the present retablo. After his work, the custom images became the main theme of the boxes, which were previously consecrated to the magic-religious Andean world. In1975, he received the National Cultural Prize amidst a debate, in which the defenders of the "educated art" looked down on the provincial artist. These were dedicated to popular images that were not longer anonymous.

DIFFUSION
Since 1950, the first retablos from Ayacucho were exhibited in private events in Lima. They were also private collections like the ones of Celia Bustamante and Elvira Luza. The requests were increasing, especially due to international tourism. In 1960, the request of handmade products increased in the tourist sector, being sold in shops and fairs in the city and provinces. The growing interest and the later terrorist phenomenon forced the creative ayacuchanos to move their workshops to Lima. Nevertheless, some of them stayed in their land, where the retablo is more popular through time. At the colonel Alfredo Mendivil airport in Ayacucho, is exhibited a quite big retablo and the newspaper kiosks on the main square of this city have a design related to this art expression. Craftsmen sell their pieces to the tourists, who visit their workshops in Ayacucho and Lima. They also export their work through enterprises and some NGO`s (non governmental organisms) who participate in international fairs and look for attractive markets. The retablos of Jesús Urbano (prize: Gran Maestra de la Artesania Peruana, 1993) belong to the Latin America Memorial Collections (Brazil), the Institute of Hispano-American Art (Spain), the Michelin collection of London (England). Other artists traveled around the world. In August 2006, the retablist from Ayacucho, Nicario Jimenes exhibited his work in the Coral Gables town council. (Florida, United States). Detaisl of the interior of a contemporary retablo, depicting the adventures of Don Quijote de la Mancha.

Web Pages:
Interregional Central of Peruvian Craftsmen
http://asociacion.ciap.org/article.php?lang=es&id_article=55
Joaquin Lopez Antay Popular Art Museum

http://www.universia.edu.pe/unsch/museo_de_arte_popular.htm
Popular Art Gallery Museum of Ayacucho http://www.rnugapa.com/
Virtual Ayacucho

http://www.ayacuchovirtual.com/Historia/Artesanos.html

THE RETABLISTS
The composition of the workshops is basically familiar. The secrets of this art are carried from fathers to sons, uncles to nephews, elders to younger brothers or close friends. In general, the retablo is entirely elaborated in workshops, but when a request is bigger than the capacity of the workshop, the elaboration of the box can be passed onto a carpenter. The list of well known retablists is long. During the first half of the XX century masters like Isaac and Celso Baldeón, Joaquín López Antay (National Art Price 1975), Daniel Castro and Gregoria Jiménez were of great importance.
Jesús Urbano, disciple of Joaquín López Antay, founded a crafts school in the new village of La Libertad in Ayacucho. Among other craftsmen, Florentino Jimenez and Mardonio López transmitted their knowledge and discipline. They also brought important variations. As a matter of fact, Jiménez, was from Alqamqnqa, province of Ayacucho of Victor Fajardo, where there are no cattle; so he used the retablo to describe the history of his village. He also began to replace the traditional wooden box for baskets, canes or even match boxes.

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