The nearby framing store has had a lot of business from me as I have pieces of art framed to hang on the walls of my apartment. (Fortunately, the cost of framing here is a fraction of what it would cost in the States.) The latest items to be framed and hung on the wall are two pieces of folk art painted on "amate" paper. I purchased them a couple months ago at the Ciudadela Handicraft Market here in Mexico City.
"Amate" paper is made from the bark of a species of fig tree. The bark is beaten into a pulp, stretched and dried. In Aztec times, this paper was used for the creation of codices which were used for keeping records and historical chronicles in the Aztecs' pictographic writing. The paper was folded accordion-style into "books". Very few of these codices have survived to the present day since the Spanish viewed these writings as works of the devil. The conquerors had the codices burned, and they outlawed the production of "amate" paper.
Nevertheless, the production of "amate" paper survived in numerous indigenous villages. Today, most of the paper that is made commercially comes from the village of San Pablito in the northern mountains of the state of Puebla. The residents, members of the Otomí tribe, originally used the paper for ritual purposes, but starting in the 1960s they began selling "amate" to artists in the state of Guerrero who used the paper for folk art paintings. These artists, who belong to the Nahua tribe, live in eight villages in Guerrero. "Amate" art has become one of the most common Mexican handicrafts, and the paintings have become the major commercial activity in those towns. Some artists have achieved international fame, and some of their works are in museums.
The two paintings that I bought are not signed and are not museum quality, but I like them.
The smaller of the two shows a village celebration of a girl's "quinceañera", her 15th birthday party.
The larger of the two shows a variety of scenes from village life.
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