Historia y Sociedad (Jul 2018)
Gilders in Santafé (Bogotá) and Quito in the 17th Century: Makers, Works and Trustors
Abstract
This paper discusses the activity of gilders in two major artistic centers of the north of the Virreinato del Perú during the 17th century: Santafé (Bogotá, Colombia) and Quito. The presence of gilders was essential for the completion of the perfect finishing of the pieces made by sculptors, painters, carpenters and carvers. Despite the fact that there was not a gilder guild neither in the Audiencia de Santafé nor in the Audiencia de Quito in that century, gilding was a constant, appreciated, valued and well-paid activity. In this article, we study references about gilders that have appeared on secondary sources as well as unpublished contracts from Colombian and Ecuadorian archives that allow us to discover some unknown artists to date. Our main contributions refer to the gilders working in these Audiencias during the 17th century, the artworks’ prices, the duration of the gilding work, the conditions agreed in the contracts between the master and his assistants, the gilding furnishing pieces mentioned in the notarial documents, and, finally, the participation of the gilders in many others artistic labours.
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