Marco
NameTin frame
Artist
Isleta Tinsmith
CultureNew Mexican
Date1890 - 1910
Place madeNew Mexico, United States, North America
Mediumtin, glass, paper, , paint, solder
DimensionsOverall: 20 7/8 x 17 1/2 in. (53 x 44.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Steve and Dottie Diamant
Object numberA.2005.49.10
DescriptionLarge tin frame (marco) with four fan-shaped tin corners, a circular lunette/corona, and two acanthus leaves on either side. These pieces are stamped and embossed with a series of lines and dots. The corona/lunette on top has embossed patterns that match the coroners and leaves. The glass panels that frame the chromolithograph are reverse-painted with a red and green layer facing the viewer, and gold and white paint on top showing through a relief created by brush strokes in the red paint. At the center is a Currier and Ives chromolithograph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, printed after 1870. The print is incorrectly titled "Sacre Coeur de Marie/Sagrado Corazon de Maria" by Currier and Ives, and the artist has cut out and included the French and Spanish titles only. There are earlier versions of this chromo in the Library of Congress. The soldering is intact and the chromo is original to the tinwork.
This tin marco is attributable to the Isleta tinsmith, an anonymous tinsmith working at Isleta Pueblo from about 1890 to about 1920, who is remembered by oral history at Isleta Pueblo as simply "The Mexican." The combination of red, green, gold, and white paint is a motif that appears frequently in this artist's work. - Carla Gilfillan
