Angel with arquebus, Asiel Timor Dei. Master of Calamarca (La Paz School) c. 17th century CE Oil on Canvas.

• Content
  • Latin Inscription: Asiel, fear of God
  • The angel is depicted with an arquebus(a form of rifle) instead of a traditional sword
  • An arquebus is a state-of-the-art weapon brought by the Spanish to the New World
• Form
  • The elongated hat with feathers is a feature of dress of Inkan nobility
  • Indigenous people favored gold embroidered on fabrics
  • Military poses are derived from European engraving of military exercises
  • The drapery is of a seventeenth-century Spanish-American aristocrat; rich costuming
  • The angel appears in an androgynous stance
  • Mannerist influence in the stiffness of the figure and dance-like pose
• Function
  • Probably one in a series of angel drummers. Buglers, standard bearers, and holders of swords
• Context
  • A relationship is expressed between this kind of image and the winged warriors of pre-Columbian art
  • The work may have originated in the region around Lake Titicaca, in the Collao region of Peru
  • The Master of Calamarca may have been Jose Lopes de los rios, a Bolivian Painter
  • The feathered hat may reference Andean royalty
  • Guns were symbols of power and dominance over native American peoples and their beliefs
  • The painting is related to Spanish-American writings that allude to angels coming at the last Judgment well-attired with feathers hats and carrying guns