MESTIZA

“As the Spanish colonized present-day Ecuador, religious conversion became the key to subduing the indigenous population and remaking the New World in a likeness of the Old. The most successful tool for conversion was art, whose storytelling power and visual representations had long served the Catholic Church for gaining believers. At first, sculptures and paintings were imported from Spain, but from the mid-16th century the Church set up guilds and workshops to train a local base of indigenous artisans. From these workshops blossomed one of the most important artistic genres in Latin America: the Escuela Quiteña(Quito School of Art).” 

- Lonely Planet - 

Gilded wood is one of the several crafts that made The Quito School of Art famous. This amazing artform is still visible in the interior decoration of the many catholic temples that can be found in colonial Quito and has been passed down through generations of Ecuadorian craftsmen. Nowadays the technique is mostly utilized for restauration and religious objects, which have lost demand in the current market. With the Mestiza Collection we strive to keep this craft alive by employing it in a more intimate kind of adornment: jewelry.