Galeria Namu

‘Artes Populares’ of Costa Rica – Mounted and Framed Endemic Butterflies

Code: CRFA052 Size: 14” x 17” (36 x 43.5 cms) In the Galeria Namu collection there is also featured – under Folk Arts – ‘artes populares’. This sub-category refers to classic quality mementos of Costa Rica that have become ‘souvenirs tipicos’ that visitors have, for years, loved picking up before leaving the country. Such emblematic ‘artes populares’ are the painted and framed feathers, painted wooden ox cart models and painted ox cart wheels, coffee chorreadores, as well as these delightful and well made mounted and framed endemic butterfly wall displays. Costa Rica has many ‘mariposarios’ and even exports butterfly pupae abroad. Once a butterfly’s life cycle ends, specialists carefully mount these and frame them for visitors. These handsome framed sets, by popular demand, must have at least one blue morpho butterfly in the composition – the emblematic large blue queen of the rainforest (whose underwing displays the big “eye” for camouflage against predators).

Tropical 'Cedro' Treasure Chest, Honduras Central Highlands

Code: CRFA046 Size: 6 1/2" x 9" (16.5 x 23 cms) Although not a folk arts tradition of Costa Rica, it is indeed a tradition of the 'hermano' Central American country of Honduras. When Galeria Namu was scouring the length and breadth of the Central American isthmus looking for tribal indigenous cultural objects and art forms for the Namu collection, we could not resist including in the official collection this Ladino artform from the central highlands of Honduras. Sadly, this carved wood chest tradition has all but stopped due to the massive exodus to the USA of many of these artisans, thus making such pieces quite collectable as this tradition has noticeably waned as of late. These are remarkable 'cedro' wood chests the 'magic' of which manifests in the way the closed lid aligns so perfectly with the body of the chest that when closed, it looks as if it were a sculpted solid wood block.

Solentiname Large Carved Wood Sculpture - Scarlet Macaw - Solentiname Archipielago, Nicaragua

Code: CRFA048 Size: 40" (102 cms) tall This large carved and painted balsa wood sculpture of a majestic scarlet macaw (and the river landscape painted on its base) was created by a local folk artisan of the Solentiname Archipelago on the southern edge of Lake Nicaragua close to the border with Costa Rica. The Namu collection has always featured Solentiname folk arts - consisting of carved/painted wood figures of local fauna and highly detailed oil paintings on canvas - as the residents of the southeastern edge of Lake Nicaragua and the Northern Plains and Rio Frio National Park of Costa Rica are all related. It would seem that the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica in this region is simply an abstraction existing only on the map! This larger sculptural piece would look fantastic gracing a veranda, or doorway

"Corazones Valientes" Campesina Women Painters - Arenal Volcano/La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Code: CRFA051 Size: 23" x 28 1/2" (58 x 73 cms) The medium of this painting is acrylics on heavyweight paper. In the mid-eighties, a Peace Corps volunteer, while working with country women near Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica, aside from agricultural projects involving these local women, it soon became obvious that many had incipient drawing and painting talent that they wanted to explore and develop. Thus, a women's painting collective formed - they called themselves "Corazones Valientes" (the "Brave Hearts" in English). This group of motivated agriculturalist women even showed their works in a celebrated exhibition in Minneapolis and soon after, had a bilingual children's book published in the U.S., "Tortillas and Lullabies", illustrated by the women in this painters' group. Mostly their works are acrylic on paper and sometimes canvas, the subject matter being scenes from their daily life and perspective through their lens in their endearing self-taught painting style. The original members of this painters' collective are now getting on, and many are grandmothers who have taught and inspired their own daughters to express themselves through painting.

Costa Rican Popular Legends Figures ‘chorreador’ (coffee maker)

Code: CRFA052 Size: 12” (30 cms) tall Freddy Acuna of San Carlos, Alajuela Province, in the north of Costa Rica is the creator of these wonderfully whimsical ‘chorreadores’. If anyone has travelled to Costa Rica, they will have invariably drank coffee made in this traditional way. Acuna, studies and reinterprets in his very stylized line of carved and painted wood figures, the cast of Costa Rica’s popular legends that all Ticos know and love (and fear!): La Segua (half horse and half sultry woman), Cadejos (the dark dog that accompanies drunks), el Padre sin Cabeza (the fear factor), La Llorona (Central America’s banshee), etc. Acuna’s creations have any of these personages holding the base for the cheesecloth bag that filters the ground coffee with the liquid receiving cup placed on the platform underneath. A wonderful piece to remember one’s rich cups of coffee direct from the local plantations of Costa Rica.

Afro-Caribbean expression - painted aluminum platters - Manzanillo, Limon Prov

Code: CRFA047 Size: 15" (38.5 cms) diametre Using the typical, classic crockery from local kitchens in Costa Rica's Limon Province, the aluminum enamelware plates, bowls and cups make for a dynamic canvas for Eugenia Barrionuevo's Afro-Caribbean studies that feature both portraits of locals as well as the iconic landscapes of the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Eugenia herself is a longtime resident of Manzanillo, a small fishing village just south, down the coast from Puerto Viejo, Limon. The artist is well known in here native Costa Rica having painted famous urban murals in the centre of Costa Rica's capital city San Jose. In San Jose, Eugenia has been the focus of various national arts exhibitions as well as having received several high-profile awards for her paintings of such cultural import for the nation and for her protracted career as a regional painter.

Guido Fernandez, coffee root sculpture - woodpecker pair, San Rafael de Heredia

Code: CRFA045 Size: 20" tall x 6 ¾”wide (51 x 17 cms) Fernandez, a resident of San Rafael. Heredia Province in the Central Valley, takes advantage of his location for most of the raw material for his sculptures: coffee bush root and stalk. Coffee wood abounds in the Central Valley, one of Costa Rica's major regions for coffee cultivation. Coffee is a joy to carve for its density, however, one cannot find trunks thicker than 7" diameter, so the sculptor is challenged by the natural contours and size of such wood. This sculpture captures so well the natural pose and antics of a nesting woodpecker pair.

'Toucans in the Sunset', Tanja Gongora, Central Valley, batik on paper technique

Code: CRFA044 Size: 21 x 23" (53.5 x 59) long Using a 'batik' technique - usually applied to cloth - Gongora has invented a remarkable painting technique (acrylic based) achieving lustrous swathes of colour, and a particular tropical light captured in her paintings. Her depicted themes range from the natural history and landscapes of her native Costa Rica, to some of the country's (most often) female residents. The chosen theme painted in this piece, 'Toucans in the Sunset', is a typical scene - if anybody has been down on the Costa Rican coasts at the end of the day, such an iconic scene you very likely would have witnessed!

Solentiname ‘school' Landscape Painting - Nicaragua

Code: CRFA049 Size: 15 x 18" (38 x 46 cms) This highly detailed oil on canvas painted by renowned painter Teresa Silva, is typical of the Solentiname 'school' of landscape painting: colour schemes that could be described as fitting of 'magical realism', minute attention to detail - every little leaf is individually painted and subject matter depicting natural history, plant life and human activity in and around the Solentiname Archipelago (a grouping of 38 tiny to small wooded islands in the southeastern corner of Lake Nicaragua). The Solentiname Archipelago on the southern edge of Lake Nicaragua close to the border with Costa Rica. The Namu collection has always featured Solentiname folk arts - consisting of carved/painted wood figures of local fauna and these highly detailed oil paintings on canvas - as the residents of the southeastern edge of Lake Nicaragua and the Northern Plains and Rio Frio National Park of Costa Rica are all related. It would seem that the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica in this region is simply an abstraction existing only on the map!

"Corazones Valientes" Campesina Women Painters - Arenal Volcano/La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Code: CRFA050 Size: 15 x 28 1/2" (39 x 73 In the mid-eighties, a Peace Corps volunteer, while working with country women near Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica, aside from agricultural projects involving these local women, it soon became obvious that many had incipient drawing and painting talent that they wanted to explore and develop. Thus, a women's painting collective formed - they called themselves "Corazones Valientes" (the "Brave Hearts" in English). This group of motivated agriculturalist women even showed their works in a celebrated exhibition in Minneapolis and soon after, had a bilingual children's book published in the U.S., "Tortillas and Lullabies", illustrated by the women in this painters' group. Mostly their works are acrylic on paper and sometimes canvas, the subject matter being scenes from their daily life and perspective through their lens in their endearing self-taught painting style. The original members of this painters' collective are now getting on, and many are grandmothers who have taught and inspired their own daughters to express themselves through painting - sometimes humourous and even risque themes.

Pre-Columbian (replica) Stone Sculpture - Double Serpentine Warrior (carved serpentine stone plaque)

Code: PCCR043 Size: 16 1/2" long x 8”wide (42 x 20.5 cms) This 'double warrior plaque carved from a slab of green-toned serpentine' would be an stone object (replica) possibly representing clan founders, or cultural heroes, of the pre-European Huetar society of the Central Valley and Caribbean watershed of present-day Costa Rica. Serpentine stone is still found by the rivers that flow out to the Caribbean coast. The Pre-Columbian reproductions craftsmen that we work with are the same that the national museums of Costa Rica employ when they need replicas made. Their craft is such that they could easily fool many experts regarding authenticity. The eye for detail and faithfully copied aesthetic that these, often senior, craftsmen achieve is most certainly informed through having handled so many authentic pre-European objects as part of their 'haul' back in the day. These were times when there were no laws against tomb raiding and selling artifacts pilfered from ancient aboriginal graves.

Museum Quality Costa Rican Pre-Columbian Pottery – Tripod Cup with Mammals

Code: PCCR038 Size: 8 3/4" x 7 3/4” (22.5 x 19.5 cms) This tripod cup with climbing mammals on each leg (possibly martins, or coatimundi) is an example of a multitude of such pottery vessels set on a tripod found all over today’s Costa Rica. Such vessels would have contained either cacao, or maize 'chicha' - all important beverages for the aboriginal cultures of the past as well as today’s indigenous people. Huetar Archeological Region (Central Valley and Caribbean watershed, Costa Rica), CE 750-900. All of the pre-European reproduction pieces in the Namu collection are faithful replicas of such authentic objects (in gold, jade, pottery and stone) seen in the exhibition halls of Costa Rica's world class national museums in San Jose.

Embera Traditional Attire Male and Female Basketry Doll

Code: IEWD015 Size: 12 ½” and 11 1/2" tall (32 and 29.5 cms tall) One of a kind indigenous art: traditional basketry dolls created from split and dyed wild palm fronds of the 'chunga' palm collected in the rainforest of the Darien region of eastern Panama. Basket making among the Embera tribe is a traditionally feminine activity and these extraordinary dolls are created by one woman, out of the whole tribe, in the Embera village of Sambu. For this reason alone, these figures are exceptionally collectable for their novelty and rarity. Special attention is given in the details of these traditionally-attired male and female Embera figures. Featuring the the patterns of the (still practiced) full body corporal markings (done with a type of neo-tropical 'henna' from the "ink" of the juice of a certain wild fruit), abundant jewelry, traditional hairstyles, as well as accessories like weapons, or burden baskets.

Pre-Columbian (replica) Stone Sculpture: Jaguar Trophy Head

Code: PCCR042 Size: 9 1/2" long x 5”high (24.5 x 13 cms) The Pre-Columbian reproductions craftsmen that we work with are the same that the national museums of Costa Rica employ when they need replicas made. Their craft is such that they could easily fool many experts regarding authenticity. The eye for detail and faithfully copied aesthetic that these, often senior, craftsmen achieve is most certainly informed through having handled so many authentic pre-European objects as part of their 'haul' back in the day. These were times when there were no laws against tomb raiding and selling artifacts pilfered from ancient aboriginal graves. Although it most certainly persists on a much lower level in our times for the black market (Costa Rica banned 'huaquerismo' activities back in the mid-Eighties), on the whole, this activity has ceased to exist and our artisans are what one might call "reformed" tomb raiders. They are left with an excellent knowledge of how such objects should look as well as, in some cases, how to 'stress' their reproductions, making them look ancient. This is a 'jaguar trophy head' (head hunter trophy)

Tagua Sculpture - Tropical Harbour Porpoise

Code: ITMA027 Size: 4 3/4" x 3 ½”tall (12 x 9 cms) This realistic composition features the diminutive San Miguel Gulf (Pacific Coast, Panama) porpoise. The coloured regions are achieved with india inks and fine quills. Carving is traditionally a male activity among the indigenous Embera and Wounaan of the Darien region of eastern Panama. Historically and up to present times, highly skilled wood carvers among these two Native peoples have been fashioning elegant dugout canoes and shamanic ritual implements (carved staffs) in local rainforest hardwoods. Since the 60's, these carvers turned their attention to carving the potato-sized tagua ("ivory") nut on the suggestion, as it's been anecdotally told - by a biologist working and investigating in the Darien forest years ago. As carving was already a highly developed skill among these two tribes ancestrally, these carvers excelled in creating wonderful (and often, very naturally rendered) figurines in the tagua nut of local flora and fauna endemic to their territory. All pieces are signed by the artist.

Authentic Central American Jade Pre-Columbian Amulet - Anthropomorphic Figure

Code: PCCR041 Size: 1 1/2” x 2 ¾” (4 x 7 cms) Galeria Namu works with artisans who one might call “reformed” tomb raiders – although some indigenous tomb raiding (‘huaquerismo’ in Spanish) probably persists for the black market (Costa Rica made it illegal in the 80’s), on the whole, this activity has ceased. The former tomb raiders are left with an excellent knowledge of how original artifacts should look, as well as, in some cases, how to 'stress' their reproductions, making them look ancient. The reproductions craftsmen that we work with are the same that the national museums of Costa Rica employ when they need replicas made. Their craft is such that they could easily fool many experts regarding authenticity due to their eye for detail and faithfully copied aesthetic. This attractive speckled green jade amulet represents an anthropomorphic figure possibly an clan ancestor, shaman, or a famous leader. Costa Rica Pacific Northwest/Caribbean watershed, CE 350-800.

Tagua Sculpture - Scorpion

Code: ITNR024 Size: 4" (9 3/4 cms) long Carving is traditionally a male activity among the indigenous Embera and Wounaan of the Darien region of eastern Panama. Historically and up to present times, highly skilled wood carvers among these two Native peoples have been fashioning elegant dugout canoes and shamanic ritual implements (carved staffs) in local rainforest hardwoods. Since the 60's, these carvers turned their attention to carving the potato-sized tagua ("ivory") nut on the suggestion, as it's been anecdotally told - by a biologist working and investigating in the Darien forest years ago. As carving was already a highly developed skill among these two tribes ancestrally, these carvers excelled in creating wonderful (and often, very naturally rendered) figurines in the tagua nut of local flora and fauna endemic to their territory. This particular sculpture depicts an aggressive scorpion - so realistic it gives one the chills! Colouring is acheived with india inks and fine quills. All pieces are signed by the artist

Large Plates and Disks - Black and White Turtle Theme

Code: Code: IEWP015 20" (51 cms diameter) The talented women weavers of the two related aboriginal groups, Embera and Wounaan, are residents of the incredibly dense and abundantly biodiverse forests found in the Darien region of Panama. The raw materials employed to create this basketwork (split, dried and naturally dyed wild ‘chunga’ and ‘naguala’ palm fronds) and the weaving technique are offshoots of their traditional ‘hosig di’ baskets. Embera and Wounaan weavers are creators of the, arguably, finest traditional baskets in the world. This example of such stunning design and technique is a large woven plate (perfect artwork for wall display) with a mandala-like design consisting of a central turtle motif and intricate centrifugal patterns radiating outwards – all in a handsome black and white format.

Vessels Geometric – Red Snakeskin Pattern

Code: IEWV017 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" (9 x 14 cms) This pot-bellied basket is a beautiful marvel of weaving technique and design representing stylized snakeskin in a red format. Like most of these indigenous Darien rainforest baskets, the underside of the piece features a beautiful design resolution: a kaleidoscopic mandala, on the base of the piece (decorating tip: these basket vessels are best displayed on a glass shelf in order to appreciate the incredible work on the underside!). Museum quality traditional basketwork created by two related tribes of the Darien region between Panama and Colombia, the Embera and Wounaan. These women weavers are making, arguably, the finest autochthonous baskets in the world. These impressive rainforest baskets are made by virtue of two key elements: the endemic, wild palm tree species that provide the young fronds that are split and are the basic structure of the baskets, and of course the ancestral knowledge of the Native women of the Darien region expressed in the colours obtained from their surroundings and the complex stitching techniques employed since time immemorial.

Authentic Central American Jade Pre-Columbian (replica) 'Axe-god' Amulet

Code: PCCR041 Size: 3 3/4" tall x 2 ¼”wide (9.25 x 5.75 cms) This liquidy green translucent jade amulet represents, what is known locally, as a 'dios hacha' (axe-god) - a power motif for the wearer and evidently a very important symbol in its era, before the arrival of the Europeans, judging by how many of these objects were excavated. Its provenance would be the Nicoya-Guanacaste region and northern Caribbean watershed, CE 350-800. The Pre-Columbian reproductions craftsmen that we work with are the same that the national museums of Costa Rica employ when they need replicas made. Their craft is such that they could easily fool many experts regarding authenticity. The eye for detail and faithfully copied aesthetic that these, often senior, craftsmen achieve is most certainly informed through having handled so many authentic pre-European objects as part of their 'haul' back in the day. These were times when there were no laws against tomb raiding and selling artifacts pilfered from ancient aboriginal graves.

Show more