Behind the Design

Bark Paintings

August 28, 2015

This special section of our interactive art gallery features one of the most unique art forms in the world. The Nahua Indians of Guerrero, Mexico have transferred their skills of intricate painting on pottery to painting on paper made from the bark of trees.

Bark paper, or papel amate, is produced by hand in the state of Puebla by Otomi Indians using bark from the mulberry or fig trees. The mulberry tree creates off-white paper, while the fig tree creates much darker paper. The bark is washed, boiled, and laid in lines on a wooden board. The fibers are then beaten with a stone until they fuse together.

The paper finds its way to the Nahua Indians of southern Mexico who have excelled for several generations at painting bright village and wildlife scenes on the hand-made paper. In addition, we now are proud to offer classic Mayan design bark paintings that depict important deities and glyphs in Mayan culture. So you have your choice of traditional designs, exclusive designs or mayan designs.

Papel Amate, or Bark Paper, is a form of traditional Mexican paper with pre-Hispanic origins. Traditional bark paper was considered a specialty of the village Shaman and was used for special rituals. The Nahua and Otomi tribes eventually began using bark paper as a canvas for traditional paintings. Typically, the Otomi of Puebla painstakingly craft the paper out of fig or mulberry tree bark, then sell it to the Nahua of Guerrero for painting. These bark paintings, known as Papel Amate, are an art form unique to the indigenous tribes of Mexico, yet will add depth and culture to almost any home decor.

Our Mayan handmade bark paintings depict a glyph from the Tablet of the Palace. In this glyph's design the figure on the left symbolizes the god of the number ten, whose sign is his headdress made of the skull of the god of Death. The fantastic figure on the right represents the bird Katun, which can also signify 20 years. Originally from the Palenque Museum in Chiapas, Mexico.

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