By Natalie Taylor
When speaking of the legacy of art, we assume it is art created by artists, whose body of work has been historically recognized. But what about artwork which does not have a record of the individual who did it, but whose excellent artistic output warrants recognition? This is the case for most of the artistic works of indigenous people of America, prior to the arrival of the Europeans. In Mexico, we refer to this as the pre-Hispanic period.
A new collection of artifacts is so beautifully executed that they ought to be recognized as part of a nation’s artistic body of work. They predate the arrival of the Spanish, and are the works of unknown, indigenous people. We are fortunate to have this in San Miguel de Allende, in a comprehensive museum collection in the Izcuinapan Room of the Allende Art Museum. What makes these works significant, is that they are all from the San Miguel area, some older than 2,500 years—two millennia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores.
The man responsible for this collection is Miguel Malo Zozaya (1906-1972), a San Miguel resident, whose ancestors were among the first Spaniards to populate our city. Starting in the early 1950s, Malo began the scientific and investigative work to recover the rich archeological history of the Laja River area. He worked closely with archeologists, collecting and preserving items he found through his own field work, and that of others. In 1964, he started exhibiting these objects, naming his collection Izcuinapan, the Nahuatl name for the San Miguel region.
Between 430 and 540 CE dozens of settlements appeared in the Laja region, and excavations in the area show different varieties of pottery. Three ceramic styles have been identified, jointly called the Bajio Ceramics, defined by the type, and mode of decoration. The first is inciso or esgrafiado. Both terms refer to designs scratched onto the surface of clay objects, but esgrafiado—sgraffito ceramics—are more sophisticated. In this latter technique, layers of contrasting slip or glaze are applied, then scratched to reveal lower layers of color.
The second technique found in the Bajio style, are Blanco Levantado, which refers to coffee-colored clay, painted over with a lighter color. This style appears throughout the Laja region, and was used in cooking, banquets, seeding and harvesting rituals, as well as offerings during burials. To make a Blanco Levantado pot, white clay was applied over the base, then using a bristle brush or a corncob, the white was etched with lines. The lines were then filled in with carbon, creating black diagonal designs on white.
Perhaps the simplest, and one of the most common techniques is called Rojo sobre Bayo—literally, red over reddish brown. Red patterns were painted over a dark, red clay base, creating a monochromatic design.
The exhibition shows many examples of all these techniques, in urns, jewelry, pots and bowls, perfumers, incense burners, and ceremonial pipes. Perhaps one of the finest pieces in the exhibit is a collection of pipes found within an ancient fire pit, in the Canada de la Virgen, archeological site. The assumption is that they were most likely used to smoke tobacco around a fire, possibly in ritualistic invocations of deities. There are descriptions of ceremonies with pipes, involving Purepechas from the Michoacan region, as well as Chichimecas, who dwelt in many areas, including the Bajio region, of men sitting around a fire, while a high priest narrates origin stories. The pipes are quite long, with a supporting platform, which means that they could be placed on the ground or flat surface, and elaborately decorated with bird, reptile, and deer motifs. A tiny, beautiful pipe is about three inches in length.
The ancient objects found in this magnificent collection, must be considered part of the artistic legacy of San Miguel de Allende. Though we do not know the names of those who crafted these works, it does not take away from the fine craftsmanship, and the great artistic eye of the men and women who created them. Along with the cave paintings of Europe, which date back millennia, these works are also worthy of admiration and recognition—those who made these pieces were the masters of their epoch, the unrecognized Rembrandts and Picassos of their day.
I urge you to visit this first-rate Izcuinapan collection—truly an artistic treasure. You might consider becoming involved with the Museum, to support and help preserve this fine, permanent exhibit.
Natalie Taylor: BA in English Lit and Journalism, Loyola University, Chicago, 1995. MFA in Creative Writing, Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, 1999. Published writer, editor, journalist. Spanish teacher in the US, English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translator. www.natalietaylor.org Contact: tangonata@gmail.com
