Conservation: revealing a hidden skeleton of death | Barniz de Pasto cabinet | V&A
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
- Can you help us crack the code?
Follow curator Nick, conservator Dana and conservation scientist Lucia on their journey to unravel the mysteries of this fascinating object. Made of a rare plant resin called mopa mopa and decorated with a technique known as Barniz de Pasto, the intricate piece is unlike anything else in our collection.
When it was acquired in 2015, a routine x-ray revealed a remarkable discovery: a vivid skeleton of death, or memento mori, lay hidden beneath a layer of paint, applied some 300 years after it was made.
Watch as the overpaint is finally removed to reveal the skeleton in all his glory, along with a cryptic message - the final part of the puzzle.
00:00 A secret skeleton
01:27 Colombian plant and animal life
02:03 What is mopa mopa?
04:14 European sea-monster or Andean deity?
05:10 Science conservation discoveries
06:08 Alterations and repairs
07:30 X-raying the cabinet lid
08:02 Micro computer tomography and XRF mapping
10:02 Memento mori
13:04 The last reveal - removing the overpaint
16:30 Lettering and the skeleton appear
17:34 The final puzzle - cracking the code - Розваги
First, I believe the animal is a Coipu or CoyPu, also known as a Nutria. Often used in Christian art, to represent the virtues of faith and living a humble or simplistic life.
Second, the symbols used seem to be referencing the side panels, in addition to the underside of the lid:
The wings in the last line seem to be the "Pelican of piety", or motherhood/nurturing.
The bow, a reference to the "Vigilia" panel, symbolizing purposeful wakefulness/observation. It is missing the arrows, which appear in death's left hand; A single one appears, two characters away, to the right of the small sickle.
The pink doors or gate, could be a reference to the doors of death.
Tangentially, it would make sense that the Andean sea god "Viracocha" would be seen in such religiously inspired memento mori. Evangelization of the Incas, caused many instances of the creator deity, to be used in place of "God". They too, created humans from stones, perhaps symbolized in the first picture, by "hueso" or bone.
The two buildings, one in cool hues and the other all white, could potentially represent dusk and dawn, night and morning or sunset and sunrise. The appearance of the rooster/bird on top of the "all white" building and it's absence on the "blue" one, leads me to suspect as much.
Lastly, the overlapping ED in the last line, is most likely a ligature of the word "de" or "of" in Spanish. It is often used in signage. There is a chance it could represent a phonetic pronunciation, but more likely it is referring to a place.
Sorry for the rant, but I hope you find out and let us all know sometime. Cheers and all the best in your sleuthing!
Nice work.
It sounds like you have the skill to decode this. (please😁)
I imagine someone with knowledge of the Spanish used in that area to figure out the pictures would help.
Thank you for the interesting information - explanation of the symbols.
Thank you very much for your post. It was fascinating, and you weren't ranting at all!
By your definition it all makes sense
With my coworkers figured out a short poem (we are art historians from the Colonial Art Museum in Santiago, Chile) that reads as follows: "Es la mala muerte escasa / con arco, guadaña y flecha / y de rato en rato flecha / las puertas de mi casa." [Is the bad death scarse / with arc, scythe and arrow / from time to time shoots / at the doors of my house].
Can you break down what each symbol means? The two houses being different colors is interesting, and what does the arrow next to the wings mean? And the rodent means “time”? Thanks!
ah, you are understanding the second symbol as a flame ( lama/ (llama).. "es ([l]la-ma)la muerte escasa" Isn't it easier for it to be quite literally a comparison of the death with a flame or smoke? " es llama la muerte escasa", or "es fumo la muerte escasa" even as a verb "esfumo la muerte escasa". ?
@@jeremybyingtonFollowing their transcription:
"es ([l]la-ma)la (muerte) es(casa), con (arco), (guadaña) y (flecha) y de (rato) en (rato) (flecha) (a-las) (puertas) de m[i] (casa)".
English " is bad (flame) the death(death) escarce(house), with arc, scythe and arrow, and from time to time (mouse to mouse), arrows the doors of my house"
They are making from "llama" (flame) " es la mala" and the capibara is instead read as a mouse ("ratón", but "rato" in old spanish) "rato en rato". I explained some of these considerations in another comment some months ago.
The colors are so vibrant and unexpected for something that’s 400 years old, it’s amazing!
Haven't finished the video yet, but I do hope they make a replica with the overpainting so that if they take the original back to the older design, there's still a 3D physical copy of the new one to compare it to - so pretty!
Edit: Aw. It looks like they just went in and removed the top layer after taking some images. That's a shame :/
@@RuailleBuaille The overpainting was pretty, but it has no historical significance beyond 'this was a very pretty doodle that someone slapped on this box to hide the old worn out paint'. Had it been a 200yo doodle they might have kept it, but museums aren't usually interested in modern alterations, even if they are pretty.
@@beckstheimpatient4135 true. It still seems a shame though.
This is delightful! Please, please give us a final reveal when you have retouched it.
i bet they never knew we would be able to tell how many times this was painted over, in the past they were like NO ONE WILL EVER KNOWWWWWWWW it was painted over 20 times haha
I love this thought 😅
This is a wonderful film. I greatly appreciated seeing how conservation at this high level depends on a multidisciplinary group of specialists and am grateful for the clarity of their explanations. Thank you!
It’s tough to decide to take one set of artwork away forever in hopes of seeing a design that another artist had obviously decided to paint over and change. For educational purposes, I get it. But that’s definitely not an easy choice to make. I don’t know if it were my choice that I’d be able to do it. Beautiful object ❤
Are we going to get an update on what the inscription means? So fascinating❤
Yes please! It’s absolutely fascinating.
Cogitanti vilescunt omnia: Everything is worthless to the thinker (Google translator) "Morning Meditation for the Third Monday after Epiphany ~ St Alphonsus Liguori"... "To him who reflects on death, everything in this world appears contemptible."
Me 2
What a treat to have this to watch on Halloween!! Thank You! 🙂
I hope to see you crack the code. What a wonderful object.
Beautiful and fascinating- I would love to know the final answer!
I wish these videos would be 5 hours long! Thank you so much for such wonderful content.
I expect it's original owner would have delighted in seeing that exquisite object at every use. Extraordinarily beautiful.
This is beautiful, gorgeous, and fascinating - thank you, V&A team :)
Fascinating riddle!
Captivating! Perfectly themed for Halloween. I'm excited to see images of the revealed underside of the lid on the website. :o)
So stunning.
What a beautiful object, amazing to think of all the different things the owner would have filled the drawers with and how treasured it was
A rubric in a rebus... The plot thickens
Fascinating!
Oh so beautiful!
INCREDIBLE!!
How wonderful !
Amazing !
Wonderful!
I wish I could see the first image (between ES and LA) more clearly is it a heart? I think the two animals are different. The first one looks like a lizard with a spiny back and the second more of an otter.
This is what I think it says:
It is heart, Death is home at night
With bow, scythe and arrow Death comes for the lizard.
The otter hunts the wings of Death in the crypt in daylight.
Maybe not. But I do think the pictures stand in for words. And I think DEATH is the word in the center of each of the 3 sentences.
I think your interpretation is fantastic! I spent a long time looking at it (way longer than I should have, but I love it so!) and definitely agree that death is likely the middle word in each line. I also agree that the image between the first two words is very difficult to make out. I think the first animal is a porcupine which may be symbolic of pain. And I think the second animal is different, as you did , but may be symbolic. Like how we show a dove for peace. I think your interpretation is really excellent though, and so close to my own!
I woke up this morning still thinking of this (I’ve no idea why).
I think the first image might be wind.
It would read
The wind of death has come at night
With sickle and bow and arrow, death is pain (symbolized by the porcupine)
In heaven (symbolized by the arrow and wings), and with God (symbolized by the flag with the cross and keys)death will be resurrected (like the morning over your home with the rooster on the house).
Also if the second animal is an armadillo (of which there are 5 different species in Columbia, where this was made) it would by symbolic of protection (due to the hard shell).
@rosescott9299 good observations all! I’m from texas so I’m used to the armadillo shell being painted separately and I thought the tail was lower but I looked it up and I see it now. And great call on the porcupine. I wondered if the 2 buildings were churches or barns (because if the rooster). It’s funny how it is pretty straight forward (sort of) when you think about it. What if it was just a fancy invitation to a Funeral (or a sacrifice!!)? Have you seen Glass Onion???
@@colormeinfluenced6997
I agree the first building is different and appears to be a church under storm clouds!
I have never seen the glass onion but maybe I’ll watch it if I have time, it looks good!
Damn. That was an unsatisfying ending.
What a beautiful thing.
So nice to see the (almost) complete reveal instead of just an object with xrays that *will* reveal something after study
Marvelous
8:26 The XRF graph thing, is cool! I don't know what makes it this cool, but I kind of want that full scan on a hoody.
Would be nice to know more about the Society and Culture that produced such a beautiful, imaginative and even funky object...This is made by highly skilled hands and free mimd.
This is amazing! I hope it will be shown to the public at some point so I can come have a look
It will be on display at V&A East in 2025. A good excuse to come and check out the new museum! www.vam.ac.uk/info/va-east
so interesting what a discovery
As a rebus, it could be :
Eso es la escasa (ES-casa) con guadaña y flecha y de rato (rat) en rato (rat) viene a las (alas = wings) ventanas de mi casa.
That’s the bad with scythe and arrow and from time to time comes to the windows of my house.
I like this possibility. I feel like one way to make this sound more colloquial would be: That is the painful thing about death, from time to time it touches our lives. (Or something to this effect) And I mean... Isn't that the truth? It would fit well with the concept of Memento Mori if this was the translation, too. This is fascinating. I think I would almost want to leave the box open to have a view of t
I like this interpretation! I think its possible to maybe phrase it a little bit more colloquially and possibly say, "That's the pain about death, from time to time it will touch our lives." or something to this effect. And isn't that the truth? I think if this was the translation, it would fit in keeping with the concept of Memento Mori. This mystery is so fascinating! I think if I owned this box, I might be tempted to keep it open at all times to show off the beautiful art on this side. I think it is my favourite scene, it is so unique , and it seems such a shame to hide it, as it would be by closing the lid.
On secod try we realized the meaning of the poem "Escribe la muerte escasa / con arco, guadaña y flecha, / de rato en rato flecha / a las puertas de mi casa" Tranlated as ""Writes the scarce death / with bow, scythe and arrow, / from time to time shoots / at the doors of my house". Is an octosyllabic poem (redondilla) with a A-B-B-A rhyme. :o
Would love an inscription update. Seems like the pictures would be part of reading it - as you say, they are in line, and the only written parts are small grammatical words connecting the main ideas of the pictures or if those represent sounds that would build words (where are 2-3 picts between words, maybe?)...
The writing box must have been purchased or commisioned by a wealthy person, that it is a writing box might suggest it was for a learned person. Perhaps someone socially important, a bishop, a member of the viceroyalty, the wife of a wealthy silver magnate. It may have been given a memorial keepsake gift for the death of a loved one. It's a stunning work of art and craftsmanship.
To me the creature on the right looks like some kind of Coendou porcupine. There's a suggestion of bristles not seen in the lower coypu-like animal, it's also higher, a possible reference to its arboreal habitat...
Excellent video!
It was exquisitely made. Loving this folk-ish art
Interesting that it has a Latin inscription. Beautiful object
I don't know who else thought that the letters and the pictures o the top of the box were actually meant to be combined. I immediately saw ESQUELA DES...(not sure what in Spanish would the building on the right be)...I just think the pictures, especially because they are placed as though they are part of a sentence (left to right and so linearly aligned with the letters). Anyone else see this?
I'm sad for the 1950s painter's effort, but fascinated by this stunningly rare and beautiful object. Presumably the motto on the lid requires identifying the coypu-type things... [mutters to see if objects sound like other words] "es nuebla la muerte es ?iglesia con...arco [googlage] guadaña y ?flecha, y de ?coypu/nutria en coypufletchailas, libroedmcasa..."
"It's noble for death to be equal with/among bow, scythe and arrow, and to nourish in nourishing-[?kind of places] the liberty of half a house"? Nope. I think reading the animals as otters/native nutria for "nutrir" (nourish) might be right, though.
The second left line says "Con arco, guadaña y flecha” (referring to the things the skeleton holds in its hands)
The last line, starting from the drawing of wings reads "a las puertas de mi casa" ("alas" here is used to replace two words - "a las")
@@johannamartinez199 I think the words before that are "de rato en rato" (rato meaning the rat but also a small amount of time)
@@ArrangingMatches Hmmm, what would be the meaning of the arrow there? Apunta? Señala? As in pointing toward?
@@johannamartinez199 I think it could be "flecha" as a verb, so "aims to my door".
@@johannamartinez199 Yes! You're definitely right, that fits the kind of diction you'd expect. What do you make of the thing at the start?
I was thinking a cloud, but it might be missing gold accents like the arrows that would turn it into something like 'wind', viento becoming something like 's/he/it is coming'...or represent 'heaven', or be something else entirely.
Have you tried looking at it in UV or Infrared light?
So, was it originally a writing box?
Is it on show now ?
No. It goes on show in 2025.
The original far outshone the latter painting.
Terrence Stamp? I thought that guy was Toby Dammit.
Et in Arcadia ego
It looksike it has two small opossums on it with the skeleton.
I find it fascinating that the concept of Death with a scythe traveled from Paris to Colombia back then
Mopa mopa huh...interesting.
Similar to a Jacobean pattern imo
This is so fascinating! My mom and i are trying to decipher this cause we are just nerds like that and it is quite puzzling. She said the first picture looks like babies like twins or could just represent birth or life. I think i agree cause we zoomed in and it looks like a little face on there with hairs. The animal could be a Guinea pig which is called a cuyo in spanish and could read "en cuyo" something. "In whose" wings...possibly. the buildings could be a church and school or could be abode so to say a dwelling after death or something like that. The flag i assume is refrencing christ or religion or something. The "dm" look like it was trying to be an E at first so idk if that could be on purpose due to spacing issues or what. That pink thing looks like the Eiffle tower so idk if this is like referencing anything french or just using to signify something tall but it wouldnt make sense if it was the eiffle tower with the dating of the box maybe? Idk. The sickle or sythe but in spanish means guadaña i think? Sooo I'll keep working on it lol i find this so interesting as someone going to school for archiving i wanna learn all this stuff!
It's a supermodel 💀
Did you try to consult a radiologist to solve the mystery? You have a X-ray which shows a skeleton, he might be the right expert. 🙂
pirate box
you mean theres skeletons assc with something else ... besides death?
The overpainting was pretty old as well. Imagine destroying the one to see the other.
Think I would have kept the surface paint (unless it was poor quality and endangers the surface below). I would keep the x-ray stored inside as part of the story...
1950's? Pretty old? No, that's just yesterday in terms of most museum pieces (and indeed in my field, conservation architecture).
@@MikeAG333
Pretty sure it's about a hundred years older...
@@b_uppy Are you? Acrylic? Interesting that you disagree with the experts at the V&A.
@@MikeAG333
So sorry, in my mind I heard 19th century overpainting...
They need to bring in some Spanish speaking Lone Star beer drinkers. (If you know, you know)
RENABO IPSO EX ME. It is backwards.
Oops, that was lettering from the other side. Renascor ipso ex me.
Perhaps the lid was from another piece or from elsewhere as it doesn't seem to fit the character of the rest of the box.
No music, please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you fo diz, v&a museum.
😍🥰🤩
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
blendin' of art and science, jellybean!!!!!!!!!!
perfect fo tan france and da ioha family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
can. we. have. a. paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarTeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey.
to celebrate life, btw.
nyehehehehehehehehe.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wat a totallystunninglyawesomazingly beautifulbeautifulbeautiful cabinet.
i'm keepin' it okie.
or we can do intervals.
display at tan's house.
display at da ioha laboratory.
display here beside our doggos.
💕🤣🤯💎🌟💯💞
Bs
They are removing all the patina. They removed part of the object's history. I guess as an archeologists I believe objects should be left as found. In the end its all about the culture and not the object.
They tried to reveal the actual story and not the probably colonizer (buyer) modern changes , also was painted over with acrylic which could damage the original piece over time because has nothing to do with original organic material. This box tells a story and was censored by modern taste
And as you said the culture is important more than the object for sure they registered the new part before destroying it, now we can have both in digital. Reveal the culture like never before. Have you been to v&a? Impossible to reach all objects whats the use of objects and more objects, they do amazing work for the whole world to experience
Archaeologists clean off mud and oxidation all the time. They also remove modern over-layers to get to the archaeology in the first place. That's a great analogy for what these people did. Taking your argument and applying reductio ad absurdum.....if some protestor got to the Mona Lisa and slapped white emulsion over the whole thing before writing an anti-war slogan on it, for instance, you'd leave that alone rather than fix it?
Here we go again, curators who destroy the beauty of a piece in the name of "restoration". So what if there's something below all the beautiful decorations? The piece was infinitely more interesting when it was covered with the polychrome decorations.
While this is a very interesting subject, the sheer volume of reiteration and waffle from these curators drives me batshit. Yes. We. Know. It's. Overpainted. You. Already. Said. That. 5 mins would have been optimal.
There are lots of interesting channels on UA-cam, Some of the others might suit you better. Good luck with your search.
Its a video on art conservation forensics. You should watch something less challenging.
In my opinion, you ruined a beautiful piece of art. Had you not "discovered" something below with the x-ray, it would have survived, this butchering.