Mexico, Tultepec
Circa 1900
Carved and painted wood with metal inlay
Height: 4½ in (11.4 cm), Length: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Brandt Mackley, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Carved wood bulls of this type were produced in Tultepec, a town in the State of Mexico historically associated with the celebration of the feast of San Juan de Dios on March 8, during which effigies of bulls fitted with fireworks are paraded and set alight as part of the festival. These objects occupy a place at the intersection of folk art, devotional practice, and popular celebration, and examples with well-developed surface patina from actual use carry a different character from purely decorative carvings. The form of the bull connects to Spanish colonial tradition while the festival context is distinctly Mexican.
This bull is carved from a single piece of dense dark wood with applied metal disc inlays across the body, and carries a heavily used patina consistent with actual festival participation over many years. The modeling is direct and economical, with the animal's mass and stance rendered with the confident simplicity of the folk carving tradition. The Santa Fe provenance through Brandt Mackley places this piece within the Southwest American collecting tradition for Mexican folk art.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Mexico, Tultepec
Circa 1900
Carved and painted wood with metal inlay
Height: 4½ in (11.4 cm), Length: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Brandt Mackley, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Carved wood bulls of this type were produced in Tultepec, a town in the State of Mexico historically associated with the celebration of the feast of San Juan de Dios on March 8, during which effigies of bulls fitted with fireworks are paraded and set alight as part of the festival. These objects occupy a place at the intersection of folk art, devotional practice, and popular celebration, and examples with well-developed surface patina from actual use carry a different character from purely decorative carvings. The form of the bull connects to Spanish colonial tradition while the festival context is distinctly Mexican.
This bull is carved from a single piece of dense dark wood with applied metal disc inlays across the body, and carries a heavily used patina consistent with actual festival participation over many years. The modeling is direct and economical, with the animal's mass and stance rendered with the confident simplicity of the folk carving tradition. The Santa Fe provenance through Brandt Mackley places this piece within the Southwest American collecting tradition for Mexican folk art.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
