Biombo with Views of Mexico City

CultureSpanish Colonial
Titles
  • Biombo with Views of Mexico City
Date18th century
Place depictedMexico City, Mexico, North America
MediumTwelve-panel folding screen; oil on red maki-e lacquer on panel, with gilt wood mounts and linen backing
DimensionsOverall: 67 × 301 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (170.2 × 765.8 × 2.9 cm)
Each Screen: 67 × 150 3/4 × 1 1/8 in. (170.2 × 382.9 × 2.9 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Agnes Cullen Arnold Endowment Fund
Object number2021.537.A,.B
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
211 Hamill Gallery
Exposé

Explore Further

Object Type
ProvenanceRoberto Mergelina, first half of the 18th century, Cadiz, Spain; Eduarda Gil de Ledesma, mid-18th century, Cadiz, Spain; The Counts of Bustillo by direct descent, Seville, Spain; Rodrigo Rivero Lake, Mexico City; Jaime Eguiguren Art & Antiques, Uruguay; [Colnaghi UK Ltd, London]; purchased by MFAH, 2021.
Exhibition History"Discovering Viceregal Latin American Treasures," Colnaghi Gallery, New York, July 2–September 10, 2021

"Return Voyage: The China Galleon and the Baroque in Mexico 1565-1815," Museo Internacional del Barroco, Puebla, Mexico, February 5-July 31, 2016
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
The initials "AR" are found on the sacks being carried by mules on screen II, which may be the initials of the author. (See image 1).

“114” “X(?)A” in black paint (partially covered by a wooden cross member), center, left, and right edger on the second panel from the left (Left screen set).

“8” in faint black paint upper left quadrant on the third panel from left. (Left screen set).

“627” (?) in black paint on the fourth panel from the left. (Left screen set).

8” lower right quadrant. Sixth panel from left. (Left screen set).

Both sets have numbers (from 1 – 12 in black paint or two different types of tape (beige masking tape and blue painters tape) at the top of each screen.

None noted
Catalogue raisonnéN/A

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Biombo with Views of Mexico City (Left Screen)
18th century
Six-panel folding screen; oil on red maki-e lacquer on panel, with gilt wood mounts and linen backing
2021.537.A
Biombo with Views of Mexico City (Right Screen)
18th century
Six-panel folding screen; oil on red maki-e lacquer on panel, with gilt wood mounts and linen backing
2021.537.B
First Wind – CL
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Courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art.
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Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu (one of a pair)
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