Art of Ecuador

We will treat here art of the Ecuador before the arrival of the Européens in America.

Chronology

the formative is one very long period, which covers IIIe, IIe and Ier millenia before our era until 500/300 av JC, divided in three: old, average and recent.
Follows a phase of regional development (200 av JC - 700 ap JC),
then a phase of integration (500 - conquest), which is in fact an improvement of the regional assets. This last development takes place only in the south, being depopulated north.

The Formative Period (- 3500 - 500 av. J.C.)

Valdivia culture (formative old: Thousand-year-old IVe - 1800 av. JC)

Contrary to many assumptions of foreign arrivals (in particular Japanese), ceramics seems to be introduced in an indigenous way into the culture of Valdivia. In general, are made up in this technique of the figurines of nude women, sights in a frontal way. Their features and their hair punctuated or are incised, the legs generally being reduced to stubs. There also exists of such representations cut in tender rock.

Eight successive phases can be distinguished in the female representation, which are marked by an evolution in the precision of the representation of the face. A hairstyle in the shape of helmet, applied at the end of manufacture, is set up quickly, but the hieratism of these figurines remains in time.

Several assumptions concerning their function have course: Did they correspond to a worship of fertility (there exist some representations of expectant mothers), were used at the time of rites chamanists, for example to remove diseases (as would let it think certain bicephalous specimens)? Recently, it is also thought that the cap could evoke a phallus, and the female figurine being actually a representation of couple.

The Machalilla culture (towards 1800 av. JC)

This civilization, located on the central coast, was born from a last phase of Valdivia civilization. It is characterized in particular by its very particular ceramic production.

The representation female are located on hollow ceramics, which was undoubtedly used as containers. The head appears disproportionate compared to the body, and the eyes for the first time are treated “in coffee bean”, by additions. Moreover, ears are often perforated there to slip of ornaments, and of reasons géométrisant painted out of chestnut, whereas ceramics is engobée of beige, which could appear of tattooings, or to be used simply as decoration.

The culture Chorrera (1500 - 500/300 av JC)

This culture extends on most of the Ecuadorian coast, and knows various phases according to the places (north or south of Ecuador). One notices an important diversification of the visual art.

Fine and light, ceramics will chorrera is decorated by modelled incisions, elements, painting of red, cream-coloured and black color. (The black is obtained by recovering certain parts of a coating, which becomes black during the one second cooking). The principal type is a vase, often anthropomorphic or zoomorphe, with a vertical neck against which rests a handle. The Chorrera culture is also marked by the appearance of the whistling vases.

But there exist also female figurines, always out of ceramics, which have an incised geometrical decoration (representation of body paintings or clothing?). They often carry earrings in napkin ring, a collar and a hairstyle in the shape of helmet, while eyes and lips are treated in coffee bean and the shoulders, very developed. The representation is always frontal, in vertical symmetry, and the statuette solidified in a hieratic attitude, without presenting feelings.
Sometimes, some of these clay women hold of small characters: would it be about one allusion to maternity? Unless the female figure does not represent a divinity or a ritual character holding an human being?

The Period of Regional development (200 av JC - 700)

The Tumaco culture it Tolita

The art of this culture includes/understands at the same time ceramics and goldsmithery.

Ceramics

Figurines and statuettes moulded or modelled, raised painting after cooking constitute the principal production Céramique of the culture Tumaco it Tolita, but the area being hyper-wet, one notes many problems of conservation of the objects out of terra cotta, in particular an obliteration of the pigments.

The iconography includes/understands various characters, of man-cat-like, the jaguars, the houses… The characters carrying a container on their back are called canastero , of the word canasta which means hood, basket.

One will notice the appearance of a figure dedicated to a long future: that of the mastiquant Shaman of the coke mingled with lime, locatable with its many ornaments (earrings, collars, bracelets of legs, will nariguera, U-shaped cap…) and with a protuberance on its cheek. Sometimes, it has a removable sex, or has animal attributes (claws with the fingers and the legs, head with hooks, language which hangs, boor…), Shamans being supposed to transform itself into animals like bats or jaguars.

Two distinct styles are côtoient: one characterized by very frontal attitudes, with a strong bilateral symmetry, while the other made watch of a certain naturalism. At all events, one almost always notices a greater anatomical reality, with representation of more faithful faces.

Goldsmithery

The goldsmithery of this culture is oldest known for Ecuador. It develops between 600 av J. - C. and 300 a. J. - C., thanks to the river of Tolita-Tumaco, very rich in alluvia, gold bearing, siver-bearing or platiniferous.

The techniques employed are varied: rolling, hammering, cutting, pushed back, welding, filigree, incrustation of turquoise and platinum, and a great refinement with course. Thus, in certain masks, one finds the irises of the platinum eyes, the pupils encrusted with esméraldite, without counting weldings, filigrees… The forms also remain diversified: one finds the pectoral ones, masks, the pendeloques ones… Often, a character antropo-zoomorphe (Shaman in transformation) is illustrated on the parts, with pushed back or in incrustations.

A rather exceptional part will be announced: “sun” of the museum of Quito, an human face treated with pushed back, surrounded by a radiant cap.

The culture Jama Coaque

This culture, very near to Tumaco it Tolita, is characterized some by its overloaded style.

One finds in the iconography various characters: priests, dignitaries, Shamans, whose important ornament is returned with a wealth of details. As for the preceding culture, one notes sometimes a strong frontality, with a marked bilateral symmetry, or on the contrary leaning for the naturalism. Thus, one knows a representation of a character sitting taking off of the parasites of the plant of his feet.

The man with the green poncho , (or rather the men with the green poncho , because there are several known representations) is one of the object most famous of Ecuadorian art. This human representation complexes, is characterized by many ornaments, on its legs, bent on its tunic, with the face (labret, will nariguera, earrings in disc), like by an important polychromy. Elements are returned by the technique of pelletizing.

Character sitting on a bench, ceramics

The Bahía culture

This civilization develops in a territory limited, on the central coast of Ecuador, to the south of the modern city of Bahia.

The style of the ceramics of the culture Bahia de Caraquez is more expressionnist, with a sharp and contrasted polychromy (red, yellow, green, black…) and a large variety of expressions on the faces. One finds the traditional mastiquant Shaman of the coke and/or in animal transformation, but also of the female or warlike characters.

The Guangala culture

The ceramics of Guangala civilization was undoubtedly manufactured with the mould, which makes the relief softer. In general, the characters represented are female, the ornaments marked by incisions or the rather inexpressive pelletizings and faces. Colors were returned thanks to slips.

Culture of the Sierra of north

This culture is spread out at the same time in Colombia, where it takes the name of Nariño, and in Ecuador, where it is called Carchi. One knows a ceramic production, such as for example a group of coqueros (mâcheurs of Coke), with men sitting on a bench, and women posed with same the ground.

the Period of integration (about 650/800 - 1532)

During the Period of Integration, several cultural groups occupied the Ecuadorian littoral, among them: Atacames (close the Colombian border), Jama-Coaque (II), Manteño-Guancavilca, and Milagro-Quevedos (known also under the name of Chonos).

the culture Atacames

the culture Jama-Coaque II

the culture Manteño-Guancavilca

Policy and culture

Whereas creates for itself a great cultural vacuum in north, with a disappearance or at least a strong reduction in the populations, the Manteña-Guancavilca culture emerges on the center of the littoral (center and south of the province of Manabí and north of that of Guayas) and unifies most of the Ecuadorian coast, creating a “maritime commercial League” which allows the trade of spondyles, of metals…

Ceramics

In spite of a simplification of the forms, ceramics is always located in the continuity of regional developments. One thus finds containers of black ceramics, or of the “Encensoir S” with the still enigmatic function. Were they used to burn wood odorous? Like base for containers? There is a group of forty approximately, all realized on the same type: a throne with a character sitting in hieratic position (dignitary), whose cap forms a container. Its hand is systematically folded up on the level of the first phalanges ( medio pugno ), which undoubtedly indicates a value symbolic system. Faces different nevertheless from one part to another though always remaining in the same style: it would be thus about the representation of a particular individual (religious leader?). The earrings are very important, whether they consist of metal and are brought back, or out of ceramics.

Stone sculpture

The tender stone sculpture is divided into three types:

of the steles in frontal position, with the lower part without decoration because the object was to be buried. Is there in general represented a female character with a cap out of U reversed very geometrical and the hand folded up in medio pugno, while it is surrounded by two auxiliary animals of profile;
of the representations anthropomorphic, in general male, bearing of the ornaments (collar, will nariguera);
of the columns of small size (max.50cm) was put at the day in the sites such as Agua Blanca, Cerro de Hojas, Cerro Jaboncillo etc… They can be cylindrical or parallelepipedic.
of the thrones, sometimes very small, comprising partly higher an animal (cat-like, bald person mouse), on a human representation with 4 legs, the hands folded up in medio pugno.

Goldsmithery

Goldsmithery remains rare, but one knows gold funeral masks representing a human head with pushed back, with money additions (hairstyle, for example).

The culture of Manteño-Guancavilca disappears quickly on arrival from the Spaniards, in particular because of the Western diseases, supported by heat and moisture.

the culture Milagro-Quevedo

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