Gayle's Blog ~ Our Travels Across the U.S.: Bandera Natural History Museum, Bandera, Texas

Bandera is a small town a short drive northwest of San Antonio; it is considered the Texas Cowboy Capital. It has a few RV resorts, lots of small, individually owned shops, and restaurants. We went to visit on Tuesday and went to Bandera Gun Works (where I bought myself a gun), The Cowboy Store (where Jim got himself a new Cowboy Hat), and then had lunch at Trail Boss Steak & Grill.

On Wednesday we went back because I wanted to visit the Bandera Natural History Museum. It was a wonderful museum. It is set up in three sections, the first being Juan Infante's Spain Art Collection where we got a personal tour by a volunteer tour guide. The art pieces were from Mr. Infante's home and I guess he wants people to share in their beauty, so he put them in this section. It is an international collection of art pieces with a collection of more than 150 pieces from the Spanish Viceregal period has been added. Paintings, sculptures, silver, furniture, antique Talavera and ivories are included in the permanent collection.

The museum has its own Facebook page, where you can learn about the different things they are offering during the year.

A model of a Manila Galleon welcomes visitors with an introduction of how the New Spain Art is distinctive from the art created in Europe. One of the most famous episodes of the story of the New Spain concerns the Galleon of Manila, also known as the Nao of China. It was a vessel that, once a year, linked the ports of Manila and Acapulco, carrying in its hold silk, porcelain, spices, fine woods, lacquer, carpets, folding screens and vases from Asia, or gold and silver from America, as well as diverse goods from Europe. This is a model of the Galleon Isabella, a one-ton replica of a Manila Galleon that represents the ship that set sail from Acapulco, Mexico to the Philippines, Guam, Taiwan and Japan, and back again, from 1564 to 1815. Its journey linked continents and represented a vast trading and significant cultural exchange.

Isabella

Route of the Isabella

The New Spain Art Hall contains a permanent collection of more than 150 pieces from the Spanish Viceregal period of 1521-1820. The collection consists of paintings, sculptures, silver, furniture, antique Talavera and ivories. Miguel Cabrera, Cristobal de Villalpando and Jose de Ibarra are artists represented in the collection.

Pedestal Candle Holder circa 1820

Frequently used as a bedroom candle holder, it provided light as well as held a time candle. Time candles consist of regular candles with evenly spaced markings, usually with numbers, that when burned indicated the passage of periods of time.

Musical Instrument made of a hollowed-out hardwood log
circa 18th - 19th century

Popular percussion instrument that was already used by the Aztecs at the time the first Spaniards arrived in Central Mexico. They have three slits on the topside, cut into the shape of an "H." The strips are then struck with covered wood mallets or deer antlers.

Virgin of Guadalupe, Extremadura, Spain
New Spain, circa 1670

In this painting the artist highlights the scorpion statute, a container for holding relics, commissioned by Herman Cortes which features a dead scorpion. Cortes dedicated the statute to the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe of Extremadura, Spain out of gratitude for saving his life after being stung by this deadly scorpion. Later, Juan Sanchez Salmeron painted this tribute. Paintings of existing statutes were an important subcategory of New Spain Art.

Spanish Style Writing Table 18th Century

This writing table features wrought iron "fiadores" and bone inlaid wood with scenes of the New World: Cortes, Emperor Carlos V, Columbus, the Santa Maria ship and a map of the New World.

James the Moor Slayer, late 16th Century

This sculpture was done by Santiago Matamoros using corn cane paste, Estofado, Guilded, and Polychromed. James the Moor Slayer, or Santiago Matamoros is the name of the legendary figure representing James the Apostle helping the Christians expel the Moors out of Spain.

Presentation of Mary Enconchado,
Oil on Wood with Mother of Pearl inlays, 17th Century

Mary as a child entering the temple accompanied by her parents, Anne and Joachim, and being greeted by the High Priest. In light of the real danger in childbirth, the successful arrival of a healthy baby has naturally given rise to ceremonies in many cultures thanking God for the precious gift of new life. Enconchado is a special mother of pearl technique inspired by Asian art and fully developed in New Spain. This remarkable work reflects the cultural integration among Spanish America, Europe and Asia.

Isidore the Farmer Sculpture, 17th Century

Isidore the Farmer was a Spanish farmworker known for his piety toward the poor and animals. He is considered Patron Saint of Farmers. When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life.

Our Lady of Sorrows circa 1680

This represents the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. The dagger piercing her breast symbolizes her deep suffering, a frequent theme in Christian art. In the background we can see the Old City of Jerusalem, center of culture, religion and history for thousands of years.

Enthroned Madonna and Child
18th Century

A very significant Indo-Portuguese ivory carving. On the back is a tiger hunting scene as well as peacocks, mermaids, and other non-Christian symbols. This was how some artists discreetly revealed the origin of their works.

Archangel Gabriel, early 19th Century

Cantera or limestone is a sedimentary rock that is mined in Central and North America. Its properties allow for detailed carving and cutting.

Archangel Michael, early 18th Century

Michael is specifically referred to as "the Archangel Michael." Sanctuaries to Michael appeared in the 4th century, when he was first seen as a healing angel, and then over time as a protector and the leader of the army of God against the forces of evil.

Chief Maxtla, Emperor of the Tepaneca Dynasty in 1426

When the Spaniards arrived in the Basin of New Spain, they learned that the heroic and little known Tepanec people, natives of the Mexican Basin, were not allowed to remain in a separate ethnic group but had been forced to combine and mix with two other groups. The existence of the Tepanec tribe is referenced as pre-Hispanic traditions found in documents compiled by historians from New Spain.

Bronze Black Powder Thunder-Mugs and Bronze
Celebration Cannon, 18th-19th Centuries

Following old Spanish traditions, most important outdoor celebrations in New Spain were accompanied by the sound of cannons and fireworks. Thunder-Mugs have been actually in use for the better part of a millennium. Bronze thunder-mugs and small cannons were specially manufactured for these occasions. They were often used to announce a ship's arrival at a harbor, so that someone could come aboard to check the ship's occupants to see if any were ill and verify that the ship wasn't bringing any plague or disease with it.

Rare Personal Coffer, New Granada, 18th Century

String-Intarsia is an inlay woodworking technique to decorate a piece of furniture by running a string shaped tool in the furniture and so hollowed to accept a contrasting piece of wood of the same shape and size. This technique is probably derived from Asia with a history spanning thousands of years. They were considered items of great luxury and prestige in New Spain. This personal coffer is made with "Intarsia" or inlay work with plant motifs.

That's the end of the New Spain artwork. There were more paintings but I did not take pictures of all of them -- I had to be selective. Leaving the art collection, we next went through the lobby and into the main rooms of the museum.

The Chimp's Tree

Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus Nortrthropi is one of the largest known flying animals of all time. Its name comes from the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god, Quetzalcotl. Remains found in Texas in 1971 indicate that this flying reptile lived 70 million years ago and had a wingspan of about 32 to 33 feet.

Camel bone carving from India

Today the African elephant is a highly protected specie, legally hunted under very strict control only in those areas that sustain a healthy population. Large camel bones can also be carved into magnificent pieces worthy of the most demanding clients.

Jungle Animals

Triceratops

This was found in Colorado. The Triceratops existed 70-65 million years ago, which is the Cretaceous Period.

The Chinese Tiger

The Chinese Tiger, also known as the South China Tiger, is the most endangered subspecies of Tiger. It is also the direct descendent of the Ancestral Tiger, which originated in China two million years ago. The Chinese Tiger has profound spiritual and cultural significance among people of Southern China. It is highly regarded as a protector against evil and sickness. This one solid jade sculpture was carved in Taiwan and embodies the fearful protective power attributed to this animal.

Giganotosaurus

It was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs. It roamed modern-day Argentina during the late Cretaceous Period, about 97 million years ago. Giganotosaurus might have had one of the longest known skull, estimated at 5 feet 4 inches.

Latin American Masks

Masks have traditionally and historically been a part of the native Latin American population. Each mask in this collection graphically underlines the supernatural bonding between man, spirit and animals.

Uncertain Outcome

This sculpture comes from Zimbabwe and is carved from one solid trunk of African Ironwood.

Makonde Art

The Makonde People of Southern Tanzania produce a unique and spiritual form of art in their wood carvings. African Blackwood, the most expensive wood, is the preferred material used for their carvings. The sculptor, Becka Lyamba utilizes tribal myths and ghost spirits to masterfully shape the dense wood into human and demon faced figures. When collectively observed, all these figures create an unmistakable message that involves body and soul. In this work, Becka Lyamba depicts the irreversible decline of a human body and senses with age. He implies that the ears, eyes, hips, etc. are all invaded by evil demons. Eventually even the spine unable to support the body develops a tail, the ultimate sign of regression.