Olinalá (craftwork)
The olinalá (Spanish pronunciation:
Although the most popular product is olinalá boxes and trunks, this artisan technique can also be applied to trays, fruit bowls, reliquaries, jewelry boxes, folding screens, headboards for the bed, seats, frames for mirrors and paintings, lecterns, breadboxes or tecomates (calabash bowls).[1][3]
It is one of the 16
Process
Carpentry process
Obtaining linaloe wood
The linaloe or olinaloe (from the Latin, lignum aloe "oily wood"), called xochicopal in Nahuatl ("fine copal"),[5][6] is a species of tree that grows in the low deciduous forest of Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca and Puebla, from whose fruit the aromatic linaloe oil is extracted. Certain voices have made public their concern about the overexploitation and decline of the linaloe population,[7] in part related to the artisan production of Olinalá according to INIFAP.[8]
The linaloe wood is highly valued for the manufacture of olinalá for its characteristic fragrance. Other woods such as
There are also producers who do not apply the cala process, which lowers the final price but does not give the furniture as much fragrance.[10]
Working with linaloe wood
Depending on the furniture, the work that must be applied can vary, although in general, the wooden boards go through several treatments, first by brushing to smooth it, then the trunk or furniture is assembled and the insecticide is applied. After a few days of rest, holes are plastered (resanar) and sanded (lijar), in order to obtain a piece that is as smooth as possible. The boards are not very large due to the natural size of the tree, so the resulting furniture will not be either.[10]
Lacquered process
For the lacado (lacquered or varnishing), the
The soils for the composition of the painting are:
- 1. Tezicaltetl, granite stone embedded in a stone or quarry. Tezicaltetl means to stone.
- 2. Toctetl, buried stone.
- 3. Tecostli, yellow stone.
- 4. Tlalxococ, sour or bitter stone. Tlalxococ means transparent stone and therefore similar to copal.
- 5. Tejotlali, blue stone. With manual force, they are reduced to extremely fine powder in some grinding stones that are called in the region tlalmetates: stone or mill for grinding stones. To paint the jicaras of any color, they are first scraped and cleaned, and after drying they are smeared well with chia oil (...)
— José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez, Gacetas de literatura de Mexico (1831)[12] (translated and adapted)
Ornamentation process
Sgraffiting
Rayado ('scratching'), desdibujo ('inverse drawing'), vaciado ('hollowing') or recortado ('trimming') are local ways of calling sgraffito, which consists of drawing by making incisions in the lacquer with a guajolote feather at the tip of which is inserted a maguey or huizache thorn.[10] Each artist has his or her style, although the most recurrent motifs are flora and fauna.
Precious metals application
Olinalá crafts often include the
Painting and goldening
The last part is the pintado ('painting') process. Very fine-tipped brushes are used, made of turkey feather at the tip of which a cat's hair is inserted.[10] Thanks to this, very elaborate motifs can be painted, which cover the entire surface of the box or furniture. Natural powder pigments mixed with sisa (oil based preparation for gluing gold) are used, that is, oil paint. In this case, each painter also has his own style, although flowers are usually the most frequent motif. Abstract, geometric and animal shapes are also very common. The drawings are simple in a naïve style and very colorful, which makes a beautiful contrast to the glossy black of the case.
Recommendations for wood conservation
Linaloe wood is a sweet wood for a wide variety of
Conservation and promotion of the craftwork
For the conservation and promotion of this craft, in 2013 the Olinalá Work Training Unit (UCAT Olinalá) was founded, associated with the Guerrero State Work Training Institute (ICATEGRO).[13] Carpentry lessons are taught in this center, as well as traditional varnish and rayado and dorado techniques.[14] The associate Taxco UCAT, instead of lacquered, it is specialized in precious metals (Taxco is known for its mining and metal tradition; in fact, the hinges used in Olinalá boxes come from here).
On September 5, 1994, the
See also
- Chiapan amber
- Talavera pottery
References
- ^ a b Secretariat of Economy. "¿Sabías que el Olinalá tiene Denominación de Origen?". Government of Mexico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ a b Radilla González, P. E. "Olinalá resguarda su aroma en una cajita". El Heraldo de Juárez (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ a b Vázquez, I. (2017-05-08). "Cajitas de Olinalá, un sueño en aroma y color". Debate (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ Diario Oficial de la Federación(DOF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ Jerzy, Rzedowski; Medina Lemus, Rosalinda; Calderón de Rzedowski, Graciela (2004). "Las especies de Bursera (Burseraceae) en la cuenca superior del río Papaloapán (México)" (PDF). Acta Botanica Mexicana (in Spanish). 66: 23–151. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ Mosso, Jalil (2019-05-07). "Lináloe, el aroma de Guerrero". ADN Cultura (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ Villarreal, Florencio (2017-06-25). "Militares trabajan para rescatar el linaloe, materia prima de las cajas de Olinalá". Cursor en la Noticia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ISBN 978-607-37-0380-2. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b Hersch Martínez, Paul. "Perspectivas de la producción de linaloe" (PDF). Sipig - Unam (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ a b c d e Sin Ruta (2020) El arte prehispánico universal de Olinalá, capital de la laca: jícaras, muebles, paneras y cajitas
- ^ "Lacas de Olinala". Mexicania (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- Puebla de Zaragoza: Harvard College Library. p. 215. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
Las tierras para la composición de la pintura son:
1. Tezicaltetl, piedra engranizada embutida en una piedra ó cantera. Tezicaltetl quiere decir apedrearse
2. Toctetl, piedra soterrada
3. Tecostli, piedra amarilla
4. Tlalxococ, piedra agria ó amarilla. Tlalxococ quiere decir piedra transparente y por eso parecida al copal
5. Tejotlali, piedra azul. Se reducen á polvo sumamente fino, á fuerza de brazo en unas piedras de moler que llaman en el pais tlalmetates: piedra ó molino de moler tierra. Para pintar las jicaras de cualquiera color, se raspan y limpian primeramente, y despues de secar se untan bien con aceite de chia (...) - ^ "¿Quiénes Somos?". Instituto de Capacitación para el Trabajo del Estado de Guerrero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ "Cursos". Instituto de Capacitación para el Trabajo del Estado de Guerrero. 2014. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ "Resolucion mediante la cual se otorga la protección prevista a la denominación de origen olinalá, para ser aplicada a la artesanía de madera" (PDF). Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial. 1993-05-20. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
Audiovisual bibliography
- "El arte prehispánico universal de Olinalá, capital de la laca: jícaras, muebles, paneras y cajitas" (video). YouTube (in Spanish). Sin Ruta. 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- "ICAT - Olinalá en el XX Aniversario del CRT (Video Entrevista)" (video). YouTube (in Spanish). A Fondo. 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2021-06-19.