El Pistaku

NameRetablo

Maker Nicario Jiménez Quispe (Peruvian, born 1957)

Date1987

Place madeLima, Lima, Peru, South America

MediumWood, gesso, potato starch, pigment, paint

Dimensions28 1/4 × 30 × 6 in. (71.7551 × 76.2002 × 15.24 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, Gift of Linda R. James, Matthew B. James Ramirez and Jason D. James Ramirez, A.2016.12.1

Object numberA.2016.12.1

DescriptionRetablo: plywood box with two doors. The interior and exterior doors of the box have a floral design painted in brown, pink and yellow. The edges of the box are framed in red. Inside are 3 shelves. The first level shows the colonial period; the second depicts the modern industrial age; and the lowest level is contemporary time. Top, or first level, shows three monks boiling human fat to make grease. The decapitated human forms hang upside down. There are jars with labels that say Grasa Humana Para Campanas. Also, several bells hang above the jars. A woman in the left forefront looks on in horror. She is dressed in traditional peasant garb. A condor looks down on the scene. The middle level shows a similar scene. The three figures are dressed in more modern clothing. The decapitated naked bodies again are in the scene. The jars for the grease have different labels indicating the human grease is for lubricating machinery and airplanes. The heads are visible in the back, on the ground. There is are several indigenous figures lying on the ground. Instead of a condor at the top, there is an airplane. The lowest level, shows another similar scene. This time the labels on the jars indicate that the human fat is to fund the military, pay the foreign debt, etc. All the labels are in Spanish. Again, there are bells, decapitated bodies, etc.