THE BAROQUE FABRIC. CASE STUDY: THE CAP OF SANTA TERESITA OF QUITO, 18TH CENTURY

Abstract

extiles have become benchmarks for the cultural study of peoples, because in addition to paying tribute to the preservation of historical memory, they allow the identification and understanding of various social relationships. This article builds an implicit textile representation in the Santa Teresita layer, made in 1796 and located in the Carmen Alto Convent of Quito (Ecuador). This piece allows us to reflect on the sense of the textile, on the one hand, as a source of historical narrative (from the papersubstrate found inthe restoration process) and, on the other, as an artistic object that involves the application of embroidery techniques in thread and lace over silk brocade. The methodological design is narrative and uses an image analysis on the tissue through the aesthetic function and the symbolic function of the object. The aesthetic function revealed the formal and constructive aspects of the fabric in silk brocade and embroidery with gold threads; and the symbolic function of the layer as a mechanism of exchange or spiritual transaction of faith and information source of social constructions