Description

Original Tigua painting on stretched sheepskin hide, a traditional naif folk art form from the Tigua region of the Ecuadorian Andes, between the Cotopaxi volcano and the Quilotoa crater. Fully documented on its reverse in a handwritten Spanish inscription identifying it as the work of an artist signing as “Nief,” produced through the Asociacion de Trabajadores Autonomos de la Cultura Indigena de Tigua Chimbacucho (Association of Autonomous Workers of the Indigenous Culture of Tigua Chimbacucho), located at Km 53 on the Latacunga-Quevedo road, Cotopaxi, Ecuador. Titled “Asi es la fiesta de matrimonio I” (“This Is How the Wedding Celebration Is I”) and dated 1985. Scene depicts a wedding celebration: a musical procession band, dancers in colorful traditional dress, an embracing couple, a condor perched on a rock outcrop, a thatched-roof house with smoke rising from its chimney, and mountain landscape. Decorative painted wood frame bordered in a blue rope/wave motif with dot detailing. CONDITION NOTE: the painted sheepskin hide has separated from its wood frame (visible in reverse-side photos) and has a slight tear; the piece remains structurally intact overall and the painted image is not compromised. Likely part of the Craft World Tours Collection, consistent with the Wilsons’ 2001 Ecuador & Bolivia tour, which traveled the “Avenue of the Volcanoes” through the Cotopaxi region. Sold as-is with all associated patina, wear, and the condition issues described above.