The monastery of Santo Domingo and Museo de la Laca (Lacquerware Museum) is located in the city of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico. The monastery with its church was built in the 16th century, with the monastery secularized later. The church retains its original function. The building with two courtyards was restored between 1999 and 2002 to become a community and cultural center, with the Museo de la Laca, founded in 1952, moved inside to take up much of the upper floor. This museum contains about 450 pieces from various parts of Mexico and Asia, mostly made in the 20th century. The complex also contains halls with permanent and temporary exhibits along with an auditorium and various types of workshops.
The former monastery complex was built along with the Santo Domingo church on a small hill overlooking the Grijalva River, in the second half of the 16th century, attributed to Pedro de Barrientos and Juan Alonso. The church portion is one of the best preserved from the 16th century in Chiapas. [1] [2] The former monastery is behind the large church with two main courtyards. It was secularized during the Reform War with the church retaining its original function. [2] It underwent its most recent restoration between 1999 and 2002 in order to make it a community and cultural center for the city of Chiapa de Corzo, with the Museo de la Laca moving into it. It, along with other facilities and operations, is managed by the Consejo Estatal para la Cultura y la Artes of Chiapas (CONECULTA). [3] [4] The entire building is officially called the Casa Escuela de Tradiciones but it is most commonly called the Museo de la Laca, although this museum only takes up most of the upper floor. [3] [4]
The Museo de la Laca (Lacquerware Museum) was founded in 1952 and is the only one of its type. It contains a collection of 450 pieces which were made between 1906 and 1980, from Pátzcuaro, Quiroga, Uruapan, Olinalá, Guerrero as well as Chiapas. There are foreign pieces from Guatemala, China, Thailand and Japan. There are demonstrations on the lacquering process. [5] [6]
Lacquerware has a double history in Mexico. There was a form of it in the pre Hispanic period called “maque” ” evidence of which was found in the La Garrafa Cave in Chiapas. However, the Spanish also brought their version which had come to Europe from Asia earlier. Painting ceramics and other household items in bright colors and intricate designs did have a long history in the Mesoamerican period. The change brought about after the Conquest was in style with floral and bird patterns coming to dominate. Later, Asian imports brought via the Manila Galleon would also have an effect on style. [7]
Traditional Mexican lacquerware is based on the oil of a seed called chia as well as that of a plant called chicalote. This seed is toasted and ground then pressed for its oil, which is then mixed with a waxy substance from the female of the Coccus axin insect species. The mixture is colored with dyes of mineral, vegetable and animal origin and used like paint on the objects. Lacquered items include gourds (often used as bowls or storage containers), toys, wood boxes and furniture as shown in the museum. [7]
In addition to this museum there are various other halls and spaces. Next to the halls dedicated to lacquer ware is a hall dedicated to Chiapa de Corzo artist Franco Lázaro Gómez. This exhibition includes many of his lithographs and other graphic arts as well as some early murals for a total of forty five pieces. His works focus on the legends, daily life, and people of his hometown. [8] The Alejandrino Nandayapa Ralda Hall hosts temporary events such as exhibitions of art, photography and more. Matias de Cordova Auditorium accommodates eighty people and hosts a film club on Saturdays. There is also a hall dedicated to the history of the building, and one to a permanent display of photographs, as well as a store selling local crafts including lacquered items. These halls surround two main patios, and fronted by various corridors built from the 16th and 17th centuries. [3]
Regular events include workshops for children and adults in folk dance, marimba, painting, writings and recycling. There are also guided tours available. The museum also participates in exchanges with other cultural institutions nationally and internationally. [3] It offers workshops in lacquer, Parachico masks, woodcrafts, pottery, embroidery and more. [4]
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities as of September 2017 and its capital and largest city is Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Other important population centers in Chiapas include Ocosingo, Tapachula, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán, and Arriaga. Chiapas is the southernmost state in Mexico, and it borders the states of Oaxaca to the west, Veracruz to the northwest, and Tabasco to the north, and the Petén, Quiché, Huehuetenango, and San Marcos departments of Guatemala to the east and southeast. Chiapas has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, or Tuxtla, is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and services-oriented city, Tuxtla had one of the fastest-growing rates in Mexico in the last 40 years. Unlike many other areas in Chiapas, it is not a major tourist attraction, but a transportation hub for tourists coming into the state, with a large airport and a bus terminal.
San Cristóbal de las Casas, also known by its native Tzotzil name, Jovel, is a town and municipality located in the Central Highlands region of the Mexican state of Chiapas. It was the capital of the state until 1892, and is still considered the cultural capital of Chiapas.
Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín, extending to the banks of the Atoyac River.
Tepoztlán is a town in the central Mexican state of Morelos. It is located at 18°59′07″N99°05′59″W in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The town serves as the seat of government for the municipality of the same name. The town had a population of 14,130 inhabitants, while the municipality reported 41,629 inhabitants in the 2010 national census.
Yautepec is a municipality located in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The municipal seat is the city of Yautepec de Zaragoza. It stands at 18°53′N99°04′W.
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments.
Chiapa de Corzo is a small city and municipality situated in the west-central part of the Mexican state of Chiapas. Located in the Grijalva River valley of the Chiapas highlands, Chiapa de Corzo lies some 15 km (9.3 mi) to the east of the state capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Chiapa has been occupied since at least 1400 BCE, with a major archeological site which reached its height between 700 BCE and 200 CE. It is important because the earliest inscribed date, the earliest form of hieroglyphic writing and the earliest Mesoamerican tomb burial have all been found here. Chiapa is also the site of the first Spanish city founded in Chiapas in 1528. The "de Corzo" was added to honor Liberal politician Angel Albino Corzo.
Almagro is a town and municipality situated in Ciudad Real province, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. A tourist destination, Almagro is designated a Conjunto histórico, a type of conservation area.
Ciudad Colonial is the historic central neighborhood of the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the Americas. The area has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also known as Zona Colonial or more colloquially as "La Zona".
The Earliest Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl are sixteen earliest 16th-century monasteries which were built by the Augustinians, the Franciscans and the Dominicans in order to evangelize the areas south and east of the Popocatépetl volcano in central Mexico. These monasteries were recognized by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1994, because they served as the model for the early monastery and church buildings as well as evangelization efforts in New Spain and some points beyond in Latin America. These monasteries almost uniformly feature a very large atrium in front of a single nave church with a capilla abierta or open chapel. The atrium functioned as the meeting point between the indigenous peoples and the missionary friars, with mass for the newly converted held outdoors instead of within the church. This arrangement can be found repeated in other areas of Mexico as these friars continued to branch out over New Spain.
Zinacantepec is a municipality located just west of the city of Toluca in Mexico State, Mexico. The municipal seat is the town of San Miguel Zinacantepec. Zinacantepec is Nahuatl for "bat mountain" and its Aztec glyph is a bat on a mountain. It is named after a small mountain which contained two caves which used to be filled with thousands of bats.
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The Regional Museum of Anthropology and History of Chiapas is the largest museum in Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Chiapas and one of the most important of its kind in Mexico. It primarily consists of two main halls with one dedicated to the state’s Mesoamerican archeology and the other to the history of the state starting from the Spanish conquest. The archeological display focus on the native Zoque and Mayan cities, and the historical displays extend in time until the early 20th century. In addition to its permanent collection, it also has a temporary exhibit hall and auditorium to host events such as book signings, summer classes, conferences and more.
Museo Universitario de Artes Populares María Teresa Pomar is a museum dedicated to Mexico's handcrafts and folk art tradition, called “artesanía.” It is part of the University of Colima in the city of Colima, founded by artesanía collector and promoter María Terea Pomar. It contains one of the most important collections of its type in Mexico, covering traditions from around the country as well as the artesanía and traditions of the state of Colima.
Mixcoac is an area of southern Mexico City which used to be a separate town and municipality within the Mexican Federal District until it was made part of Mexico City proper in 1928.
Mexican lacquerware is one of the country's oldest crafts, having independent origins from Asian lacquerware. In the pre-Hispanic period, a greasy substance from the aje larvae and/or oil from the chia seed were mixed with powdered minerals to create protective coatings and decorative designs. During this period, the process was almost always applied to dried gourds, especially to make the cups that Mesoamerican nobility drank chocolate from. After the Conquest, the Spanish had indigenous craftsmen apply the technique to European style furniture and other items, changing the decorative motifs and color schemes, but the process and materials remained mostly the same. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the craft waned during armed conflicts and returned, both times with changes to the decorative styles and especially in the 20th century, to production techniques. Today, workshops creating these works are limited to Olinalá, Temalacatzingo and Acapetlahuaya in the state of Guerrero, Uruapan and Pátzcuaro in Michoacán and Chiapa de Corzo in Chiapas.
Chiapas handcrafts and folk art is most represented with the making of pottery, textiles and amber products, though other crafts such as those working with wood, leather and stone are also important. The state is one of Mexico's main handcraft producers, with most artisans being indigenous women, who dominate the production of pottery and textiles. The making of handcrafts has become economically and socially important in the state, especially since the 1980s, with the rise of the tourist market and artisans’ cooperatives and other organizations. These items generally cannot compete with commercially made goods, but rather are sold for their cultural value, primarily in San Cristóbal de las Casas.
The defunct Convento de Santo Tomás was a set of buildings belonging to the Dominicans, under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas, in Madrid.