Lacquers of the Amazon: Cuias, Cumatê and Colours by Indigenous Women in Grão-Pará in the 18th Century

Abstract

The starting point of this proposal is a collection of decorated cuias, preserved in Portugal and produced by Indigenous women in Grão-Pará in the 18th century. The objects in question are an exemplary case of the global art history of the Amazonian communities. In order to investigate them, it is necessary to consider the procurement and ritual use of cuias (fruits of the cuieira tree-Crescentia cuyete), the sophisticated techniques used to produce a durable, glossy, black varnish from cumatê (or cumaté, cumati), a natural dark red pigment extracted from the skins of the cumatezeiro or axuazeiro tree (Myrcia atramentifera), as well as the incorporation of fauna and flora motifs from Asian or Asian-inspired textiles and embroidery, which circulated worldwide. Their history brings together the nature of the forest, the myths of creation, and the knowledge and practices of Indigenous and riverine women, mainly from the lower Amazon. Studying these objects produced by Indigenous female painters in a colonial context of appropriation, in addition to contributing to their knowledge, can stimulate dialogues on the knowledge of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest with other locations in America, sharing their ancestry and resistance.