Mate burilado
The mates burilados (Spanish for: engraved bottle gourd ; singular: mate burilado) are bottle gourds decorated with carvings.
With these typical products of the Peruvian handicrafts from the Valle del Mantaro in the province of Huanta in the Ayacucho region , named after the Río Mantaro , the pumpkin surface is browned to different degrees with glowing wooden sticks, with light tones being achieved by carving out.
history
The dried bottle gourd ( Lagenaria siceraria ) in the form of a calabash is the starting material for the production of mate burilados. The American archaeologist Junius Bird (1907–1982) discovered two small, engraved calabashes that are 3500 years old in the prehistoric settlement of Huaca Prieta . This settlement is located in the La Libertad region , on the northwest coast of Peru. This find proves that the practice of engraving bottle gourds goes back to pre-Inca cultures . Ancient cultures on the north coast of Peru, such as the Moche culture and the Chimú culture , created calabashes with figurative drawings of fish and birds. Similar calabashes have also been found in the areas of Huaura , Ancón , Pachacámac and on the south coast. The Incas further developed this technique and often used calabashes as vessels, musical instruments and cult objects. The calabashes were decorated with motifs of agricultural and social activities, which were accompanied by geometric patterns. There are different types of mate burilados in different colors. The classic type is made in brown, reddish and black colors.
In the Valle del Mantaro
Mate burilados are currently produced mainly in the Mantaro Valley, and in particular in the Cochas Chico and Cochas Grande districts. The artists spend two to three days making a mate burilado. Finally, a hanger (ring or string) is attached. There are also mate burilados as Christmas decorations, some with silver encrustation or mother-of-pearl.
In Huanta Province
Recently, this handicraft has had a great boom in Huanta, Ayacucho region . This is where the '' mates huantas '' come from, who are particularly distinguished by the vitality of their thick lines. Rural scenes are particularly preferred as motifs.
Character motifs
Another type of decoration goes in the direction of miniaturization of the drawing, the details of which can often only be seen properly with a magnifying glass. The drawing was carried out on the bottle gourd with a fine graver . Most of them are very dynamic comic- style scenes with themes from rural life.
There are both very small and very large mates burilados. Sometimes the whole history of a village is shown on the large ones. Many are decorated with silver plating or mother-of-pearl.
Tools
The digger is the primary engraving tool tool. It consists of a quinoa stalk as a handle to which an iron nail is attached as a working point, the fine or broad tip of which has a triangular shape. In order to remove entire layers over a large area for backgrounds and to draw outlines, engravings are also used. Spoons are used to create curves, and the contents of the gourd are removed with spoons. As a final step, the mates burilados are smoothed with sandpaper and then polished. The burned-in patterns are made with a half-burned log of quinoa or eucalyptus . Some artists also use modern tools such as a grinder , soldering iron, and torch.
Ornamentation techniques
There are several techniques for decorating the mates. Burn-in engraving, also known as the Huanca technique, to draw outlines and to draw areas dark. A burning quinoa stick or an ordinary, modern hand burner is used for this.
There is also a technique with a black background, also known as the Ayacucho technique. To do this, the area for the image to be applied is coated with oil and covered with ashes from the Stipa ichu grass (a grass belonging to the spring grass genus ). Then the bottle gourd is washed off and dried. The ashes are deposited in the previously engraved grooves, highlighting the lines. Staining method is dipping the mat on a container with green or cherry aniline dissolved in hot water.
If the mates burilados are colored, this is done by immersing them in hot water in which green or red aniline colors are dissolved. After coloring, they are rinsed and dried outdoors. Then they are engraved and the drawings are reworked with white paint. The white contrasts strongly with the black background.
Currently, the mates burilados are often decorated in different colors. The figures are sketched with white paint before the engraving and then drawn with tempera paints later. To give them a nice shine, they finally get a coating of wax or varnish.
Web links
- Making Mate burilado - youtube film (spanish)
- Mate burilado with various typical drawings - youtube film (spanish)
- Production explained and illustrated in detail (Spanish)