Description

Overview

This is a Peruvian ceramic “iglesia de techo,” or roof church, a folk art form from the village of Quinua in the Ayacucho region of the south-central Andes. These sculptures are traditionally handcrafted for the Safacasa ceremony — a roof-blessing tradition in which a finished home’s roof is completed by securing a ceramic church at its peak, believed to protect the household from evil spirits, misfortune, and lightning. The piece is signed and inscribed “Ayacucho Quinua” with the maker’s personal monogram, directly attributing it to a named Quinua ceramicist. Craft World Tours’ own newsletter and business archive materials confirm Peru as a destination the Wilsons traveled to as part of their four-decade collecting history, alongside neighboring Ecuador and Bolivia.

Design & Craftsmanship

• Function & Form: Depicts a mission-style chapel with a tiled roof, twin bell towers each topped with a cross, and a gathered procession of figures — a central robed, bearded figure flanked by smaller hooded villagers — beneath the entrance arch. Measures 21″H x 13″W x 4″D.
• Artistry & Ornamentation: Hand-built terracotta, decorated with earth-tone slips in white, ochre, red-brown, and black, featuring geometric zigzag and cross-hatch bands, floral motifs, and a rosette medallion — traditional Quinua decorative vocabulary.
• Structural Base: Hollow-body construction; inscribed “Ayacucho Quinua” with artist monogram along the roofline.

Condition Report

• Surface Condition: Age-appropriate handling wear to painted surfaces; no significant losses to painted decoration.
• Structural Integrity: A chip/loss is visible along the base rim, exposing the hollow interior construction; otherwise structurally stable. This item is sold “as-is” with all associated patina and wear inherent to its age and history as part of the Craft World Tours Collection.