Damasquinado: The Metalworking that Helped Shape Contemporary Spain

A thesis presented to

the faculty of

the College of Fine Arts of Ohio University

In partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree

Master of Arts

Rachel D. Black

December 2021

© 2021 Rachel D. Black. All Rights Reserved.

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This thesis titled

Damasquinado: The Metalworking that Helped Shape Contemporary Spain

by

RACHEL D. BLACK

has been approved for

the School of Art + Design

and the College of Fine Arts by

Andrea Frohne

Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts

Matthew Shaftel

Dean, College of Fine Arts

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Abstract

BLACK, RACHEL D., M.A., December 2021, Art History

Damasquinado: The Metalworking that Helped Shape Contemporary Spain

Director of Thesis: Andrea Frohne

The ‘damasquinado’ is a beautiful and technical artform that is derived from one of the

oldest metalworking styles in the world, dating back to ancient times, and resulting in a

variety of wonderful art objects that show the evolution of the metalworking technique

and design style. I will be analyzing some pieces that span this timeline of the

‘damasquinado’, defining the term itself, that will show the effects of the tourist art

market on the artform, and the relationships that form therein, that has helped to keep the

artform relevant in contemporary Spain.

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Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to my loving and supportive husband, who contributed to its

completion in his own way.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dr. Catherine Marshall, Director of the Ohio University

Global Opportunities Office, for first bringing the damasquinado to my attention and

giving me direction. I thank my thesis committee members, Dr. Charles Buchanan and

Dr. Melissa Figueroa, for their support, feedback, and assistance during the thesis

process. I have to thank my advisor, Dr. Andrea Frohne, who has been an amazing

teacher, mentor, and guide in my graduate career, and without whom this thesis would

not have been possible. I would also like to mention Dr. Mary Jane Kelly, former

Professor of Spanish at Ohio University, for educating and exposing me to the wonders

of Spanish art.

I would also like to thank damasquinado master artist, Óscar Martín Garrido, for

accepting my friend request and allowing me access to his digital portfolio.

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Table of Contents

Page

Abstract ...........................................................................................................................3
Dedication .......................................................................................................................4
Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................5
List of Figures .................................................................................................................7
Introduction .....................................................................................................................8
Chapter One: The Evolution of Metalworking in Spain and the Migration of the
Damascene .................................................................................................................... 12
The Migration of the Damascene ............................................................................. 12
What is a ‘Damascene’? ........................................................................................... 15
A “True” Damascene ............................................................................................... 17
Chapter Two: The Zuloaga Technique and Revival of the 1800s.................................... 20
Family History ......................................................................................................... 20
Spanish Technique ................................................................................................... 23
Design ..................................................................................................................... 28
Objects .................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter Three: Modern Adaptation of the Damasquinado ............................................. 34
Modern Master: Óscar Martín Garrido ..................................................................... 34
Mass-Production Businesses .................................................................................... 43
Chapter Four: The Relationship between Tourist Art and the Contemporary
Damasquinado .............................................................................................................. 50
What is ‘Tourist Art’? .............................................................................................. 50
Tourist Arts Relationship to Damasquinado............................................................. 53
Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 57
References ..................................................................................................................... 59
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List of Figures

Page

Figure 1 Quijote y Sancho Cabaljan Juntos ......................................................................9

Figure 2 Ring of Leontius .............................................................................................. 16
Figure 3 Damascus Sword and Arabic Scabbard ............................................................ 18
Figure 4 True Damascene .............................................................................................. 22
Figure 5 Forming Teeth ................................................................................................. 23
Figure 6 False Damascene ............................................................................................. 24
Figure 7 Item# 61650, or Heart-Shaped Pendant Necklace ............................................. 27
Figure 8 Fonthill Casket ................................................................................................ 29
Figure 9 Pair of Iron Urns .............................................................................................. 31
Figure 10 La Quijote...................................................................................................... 37
Figure 11 Quijote y Sancho Cabaljan Juntos .................................................................. 39
Figure 12 Custom Bracelet ............................................................................................ 45
Figure 13 Item# 21031, or Flamenco Dancers ................................................................ 46
Figure 14 Custom Plate Disney Shanghai VIP Gift ........................................................ 55
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Introduction

When first contemplating what to do my thesis on, there were a lot of choices and

a lot of factors that went into my decision. I wanted to challenge myself to learn more

about an artistic style or form that I was unfamiliar with and could learn more about in

my study and research. After taking so many arts and art history classes that reference the

“greats” of the art world, Leonardo, Matisse, and so forth, many hailing from the

mainland of Europe, that there seemed, to me, to be very little information, broadly

speaking, about the “great” artists that have hailed from Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.

Coming to this realization, I decided to rectify this by learning more about the rich and

diverse culture that the people of Spain share with each other and their art works.

In speaking to a wonderful woman by the name of Catherine Marshall at my

university’s Global Opportunities office about traveling to Spain, she mentioned a

specific kind of art that she had heard about from someone else who has been there. After

probing her for more information, I went home and looked up the definition of the word

‘damasquinado’ and a new interest was born. This beautiful and technical artform,

represented in Figure 1, derives from one of the oldest metalworking styles in the world,

dating back to ancient times, and resulting in a variety of wonderful art objects that show

the evolution of the metalworking technique and design style. Some of the works that I

analyze in this thesis include pieces that span the timeline of the ‘damasquinado’ and will

show how the effects of the tourist art market, and the relationships that form therein, has

helped keep the artform relevant in contemporary Spain.

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Figure 1

Quijote y Sancho Cabalgan Juntos

Óscar Martín Garrido. 30 cm. Gold, silver, iron, and steel. 2014.

In Chapter 1, I will cover the origins and history of the metal working style of

damascene and how the introduction of the North Africans in the eighth century changed

and evolved the art of decorating metals with precious metals in Spain. Here I establish

what the term “damascene” means, how it relates to both Damascus and damasquinado,

and what an ‘original’ or “true” damascene is. (In this chapter, I will be using older terms

that are no longer in use only as the reference materials and sources use them, such as

‘Moor’ or ‘Moors’, which was used to refer to all Muslims or Imazighen people

(indigenous North Africans) entering Europe regardless of ethnic origins. However, when

not citing a reference source or material, I will use the modern-day terms that are

accepted for those peoples or regions, such as ‘Muslim’, ‘Islamic’, ‘Amazigh’

(indigenous North African), or ‘Arabic’.) Chapter 2 explores the Zuloaga family of the
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1800s, how they famously reinvented the technique of damascene and the aspects of the

‘damasquinado’ that make it distinct to Spain. Analyzing a Zuloaga ‘damasquinado’

piece and how it differs from an ‘original’ damascene of Damascus will prove that the

Spanish artisans took this art style and made it their own, representing the people of

Toledo and Spain. To further this point, Chapter 3 identifies and compares the

contemporary adaptations and modifications of the ‘damasquinado’ by modern artists

and merchants to keep the artform relevant. Finally, in Chapter 4, I analyze how the

tourist art market has affected ‘damasquinado’ artists, vendors, and merchants with the

local and international influences of this market and the relationships that form from

these interactions. The demand for such metal working pieces has created a new market

for a mass-produced machine-made ‘damasquinado’ that has flooded the tourist market

and has heavily impacted the artists of regions like Toledo.

While researching the history of the ‘damasquinado,’ I faced numerous

challenges as this specific metalworking technique had very few sources available in

English, like The Art and Tradition of the Zuloagas by James D. Levin. I found that the

‘damasquinado’ had been written about in the Spanish art community by a few authors

and was able to find and translate several documents, such as an article by Ramiro

Larranaga titled “El damasquinado de Eibar” and Una Historia del Damasquinado

Toledano by Luis Peñalver Alhambra. These were my main sources for the history,

technique, and design of the ‘damasquinado’ and its’ deviation from the ‘damascene.’

When researching tourist art and the effects of the tourist market on the community and

local market, I was able to find many resources that elaborated on the “tourist setting”
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and the stages of tourist, such as Bennetta Jules-Rosette’s The Messages of Tourist Art

and an article by Dean MacCannell titled “Staged Authenticity.” One source that could

probably have been very useful was El damasquinado de Toledo by Felix del Valle y

Diaz, however, I was not able to obtain it due to financial issues and could not include it

in my research.

To conclude, the ‘damasquinado’ has been influenced by the expanding tourist art

market, creating local and international audiences, which has helped the artform to

continue to stay relevant in contemporary Spanish society. The ‘damasquinado’ bridged

the gap between “fine art” and “tourist art” as this once ancient art form, previously only

available to those elite or wealthy enough to afford such items, has been commodified in

the modern era of capitalism. Commodification of the ‘damasquinado’ has heavily

influenced today’s tourist art market in Spain. This has spawned a demand for the art

works that has opened avenues for artists and vendors to make new types of works for the

modern consumer. The evolution of art can at any time take an unexpected turn and go in

directions that are uncertain and scary for the future, however, by adapting to modern

concerns and challenges, old art forms can remain relevant and/or be preserved.
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Chapter One: The Evolution of Metalworking in Spain and the Migration of the

Damascene

The origin of the ‘damasquinado’ begins with the term ‘damascene’ which

originally was used to describe goods and people that came from the city of Damascus,

but eventually became synonymous with the metalworking technique of inlaying designs

of precious metals, such as gold and silver, into other metals, like iron or steel. This

ancient technique was used for hundreds of years as a means of ornamenting or

decorating objects, like armor or swords, to indicate wealth or importance. Though it is

still used to make ornamental objects and souvenirs, today it is mostly used to create

electronics, like microchips and other computer components.1 While using gold and

silver as decoration has been seen in many parts of the world, the specific style of the

‘damascene’ originates from the region of Damascus, where it eventually spread to the

furthest reaches of the globe before being reinvented in Spain.

The Migration of the Damascene

The ‘original’ or ‘true’ damascene can be traced back to Damascus, a city that

shares the name with the metalworking technique and has its own specific elements that

separate it from the distinctively Spanish ‘damasquinado’. The term damascene was first

used to refer to anything that came from the city, from the people to the objects, but

eventually became synonymous for the metalworking technique of inlaying precious

1 Tami Lasseter Clare and Andrew Lins, An Introduction to the History and Methods of
Decorating Metal (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2021) Website. Section:
Physical Finishing Techniques, Damascene. The authors write about the “modern use of
damascene” in the production of circuitry for microchips.
 13

metals into steel or iron.2 This ‘original’, or ‘true’ form of the damascene originated in

the Middle East, specifically the region in and around Egypt and Syria, but spread

through western Asia, northern Africa, and southern Europe during the expansion of the

Muslim kingdom in the seventh and eighth centuries.3 Even accounts from Kyoto, Japan,

who also has a thriving ‘damascene’ market, point to the Middle East as the origins of the

metalworking technique.

The use of gold and silver as decoration for various objects can be traced back to

the Carthaginians in Cadíz in Spain and the Celts coming from Central Europe, both of

whom seem to be simultaneously responsible for the introduction of the processes and

forms of extracting iron from ore and forging it into tools and weapons in the Iberian

Peninsula.4 These indigenous peoples used rougher metalworking techniques such as

wrapping gold or silver wire around objects, with no incisions or marks made on the

surface metal, which produced a rustic, clunky look and could not withstand the test of

time as well as the damascene.5 Newer and more sophisticated styles and techniques

2 Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “Damascene,” accessed 2020; H. Foll,

“Damascene Meanings,” Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel.
3 James D. Levin, The Art and Tradition of the Zuloagas: Spanish Damascene from the
Khalili Collection (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 13-14; Tami Lasseter Clare
and Andrew Lins, An Introduction to the History and Methods of Decorating Metal
(Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2021) Section: Physical Finishing
Techniques, Damascene. Both sources refer to the Middle East as the source of the
‘damascening’ process.
4 William D. Phillips, Jr and Carla Rahn Phillips, A Concise History of Spain,
(Cambridge University Press, 2015), 17-22; Levin, The Art and Tradition of the
Zuloagas, 13.
5 Levin, The Art and Tradition of the Zuloaga, 13.
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were generally introduced to the peninsula in a westward movement from either the

Continent or the Mediterranean, which remains true in the ‘damasquinado’ as well. In

146 BCE after the Punic wars, the Romans invaded and occupied the Peninsula, naming

it Hispania, and imposing a “relatively uniform culture” due to it being ruled from afar as

a province.6

As the Roman Empire started to decline in the fifth century, there occurred a

migration of Germanic groups into the Iberian Peninsula including the Visigoths, who

very quickly dominated others, such as the Sueves in the north-west, and terminated the

remnants of the Byzantine Empire from the south. Following a long process of treaty-

breaking and sieges on Rome, the Visigoths eventually controlled the peninsula from the

beginning of the sixth century to the early years of the eighth century.7 However, in 711

CE, the Visigoths were removed from the region as the expansion of the Muslim

kingdom spread into Europe by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar with an army of 7,000

Moors, the term used to refer to Muslims or North Africans entering Spain regardless of

ethnic origin.8 Over the next 750 years, the Moorish kingdom integrated indigenous

Iberians into their new communities and encouraged religious freedom among its people,

creating a hub of diversity and progressing the peninsula in science, architecture, and art.

6 Phillips Jr and Phillips, A Concise History of Spain, 27-35; Levin, The Art and
Tradition of the Zuloagas, 13.
7 Phillips Jr and Phillips, A Concise History of Spain, 39-56, 61-65; Levin, The Art and
Traditions of the Zuloagas, 13-14.
8 Gerry Kerkhof, “History of Moorish Spain,” Spanish-Fiesta: Discover the Real Spain
(blog), last modified in 2019; Phillips Jr and Phillips, A Concise History of Spain, 39-56,
61-65; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the Zuloagas, 13-14.
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A specific consequence was metalworking techniques such as ‘niello’ and the

damascene. 9

What is a ‘Damascene’?

The ‘original’ or ‘true’ damascene that was first practiced and refined in the

Middle East is a distinct style of metalworking that inlays precious metals into harder

metals, utilizes arabesque motifs and designs, and gained popularity as it spread with the

expansion of the Muslim kingdom. When analyzing the different styles and mediums of

metalworking that were taking shape in Damascus, there are clear connections between

the metalworking artists of the Syrian kingdom and the damascene that was introduced to

the Iberian Peninsula.

There are several identifying features of an ‘original’ damascene that

differentiates it from the other metalworking styles that were being used in the early part

of the millennium, both by the Muslims and the rest of the world. First, the Muslim

damascene artists, instead of just wrapping objects with precious metals, started to incise

or engrave lines and designs into the harder metal surface, as seen in Figure 2, which they

then filled with gold or silver. The designs were then burnished to secure the metal into

the surface before the excess was removed and the finishing touches were added. One

finishing process is known as niello, sometimes mislabeled ‘black enamel’, which is the

use of a sulfurous metallic alloy that resembles enamel and was applied as a surface

9 Kerkhof, “History of Moorish Spain”; Phillips Jr and Phillips, A Concise History of

Spain, 61-69; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the Zuloagas, 14-15.
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treatment to produce a smooth, reflective, darkly colored background.10 This technique

was used in combination with the damascene all the way through the eighteenth-century

revival of the damascene and can be seen in some of the earliest ‘damasquinado’

artworks that were being manufactured in Spain (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

Ring of Leontius

Note Unknown Byzantine Artist, Approx. 1000 CE. Gold and niello. 11/16 x 7/8 x 7/8

(in). Metropolitan Museum of Art.

10 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Niello.” Encyclopedia Britannica, October

2013; “Niello,” Lang Antiques, accessed October 2020.
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A “True” Damascene

Due to the fact that the damascene technique is an ancient one and that most

damascened objects were meant to be used and not preserved, there are very few

remaining examples of this metalworking technique from that era and region that can be

compared to the modern damascene and damasquinado that can be found today. Any

examples that can be found today are already resting in museums or a private collection

and are hard to access as they are very delicate and need to be maintained properly if it is

to be enjoyed in the future.

In Figure 3, there is a masterful recreation of a Damascus sword with scabbard

that was manufactured using the ‘wootz’ steel and the ‘original’ or ‘true’ damascene

techniques, showcasing why it became so popular during this time. A long, curved sword

bares damascened patterns over the fuller section of the blade, the rain-guard and pommel

of the hilt, and the locket and chape of the scabbard. Besides the fact that the swords were

said to be resilient and durable to the point of cutting through a rifle barrel, the beautiful

way that the metal itself has a water-like pattern after being shaped and cooled was

clearly another popular trait of the metal. Though the steel was already patterned, this

inspired the Muslim metalworkers to add another layer of contrasting metal to make more

pronounced designs and engravings stand out against the luster-less steel. In the detail,

the curvilinear lines make up a variety of interlocking motifs and designs in the diamond-

shaped hilt and the cap on the end attached by a chain that looks much too fragile to be a

functional hand guard (see Figure 3).

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Figure 3

Damascus Sword and Arabic Scabbard

Derek Jordan and Scott Anderson. Wootz steel, iron, gold, and silver.

The matching red scabbard not only shows the same interlocking curvilinear

designs on the locket section but also includes a special engraving on a gold plaque that is

set into the locket, opposite the throat (see Figure 3). The Arabic inscription is embedded

on a diamond-shaped plaque of gold, similar to the shape of the rain-guard on the hilt,

and is surrounded by a curvilinear pattern inside a border of interlocking motifs. The

designs that were used on both the sword hilt and the scabbard were typical of metal-

working pieces that came out of the Muslim kingdom during this era.

From approximately 1212 to the surrender of the Iberian Peninsula, the Moors

suffered heavily from internal conflict and, despite being successful in most of their

attacks in Europe against the Christian Reconquest, they eventually fell back to Africa. In
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1492, the North Africans surrendered their last bastion of Granada to the Catholic

monarchy in a treaty signed between the Islamic King Boabdil and the Spanish King and

Queen, Fernando and Isabel.11 This treaty offered generous terms of allowing Muslims to

return to north Africa or stay and keep their property and religion; however, this was

short lived as just seven years later, the Catholic monarchs ordered that all Muslims

convert to Christianity or leave.12 Those that chose to remain and converted to

Christianity were known as Moriscos and the impact that they had on contemporary

Spain still be seen, felt, and heard today in the food, art, and culture of today.

11 “Muslim Spain (711-1492),” BBC, last modified 2014; Kareemah, “The In-Depth
History of Moors in Spain,” Hijabiglobetrotter (blog), August 2017; Kerkhof, “History of
Moorish Spain”; Phillips Jr and Phillips, A Concise History of Spain, 146-48.
12 Phillips Jr and Phillips, A Concise History of Spain, 147-48.
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Chapter Two: The Zuloaga Technique and Revival of the 1800s

For almost four centuries after the surrender of the Iberian Peninsula to the

Catholic monarchy in 1492, the damascene style of metalworking remained mostly the

same as it had been when it was introduced by artists from north Africa. Metalworks

were still being produced from artisan towns, such as Toledo, but there was not much of a

change in the style or technique of the damascene until the 1800s when it experienced a

revival of sorts. The Zuloaga family consisted of a father and son duo of metalworkers

based in Eibar, the town famous for metalwork in the north of Spain. These two were

responsible for taking the damascene and reinventing it into what we know today as the

damasquinado, a distinctly Spanish treasure. Here is an exploration of how the

damasquinado differentiates from original damascene in technique, design, and objects

produced. It is now recognized as its own artform.

Family History

The Zuloaga family contributed much to the revival and preservation of the

damascening technique and was largely responsible for reinventing it to create the

significant differences of the damasquinado compared to the original damascene. A

family of artistic geniuses, the Zuloagas worked metal in Eibar since at least 1596. It was

the patriarch Eusebio Zuloaga who opened a damascene factory in Eibar that become the

workshop and schoolhouse of Plácido Zuloaga. Eusebio, who served as an arquebusier,

an infantryman who carried a form of long gun, in the Spanish Military until 1844, was

acclaimed in metalworking himself, working for the Royal Armory; however, his son,
 21

Plácido Zuloaga, revolutionized the art by practicing and perfecting a new technique for

inlaying soft metals into other, harder metals.13

Plácido Zuloaga was born in 1834 in Madrid, where he started practicing the arts,

such as drawing and painting, at an early age. By his 20’s, he already shared in his

father’s triumphs in the 1840 and 1850 exhibitions and expositions of art and culture in

Madrid, Paris, and London. Plácido Zuloaga then began to travel Europe, from Paris to

Dresden, studying with the great artists at the time, including Paul Lienard, Antoine

Louis Bayre, and Jean Baptiste Carpeaux. He eventually settled down back in his

hometown of Eibar with his wife, Lucía Zamora y Zabaleta, the mother of the famous

painter Ignacio Zuloaga, where he began practicing the art of the damascene. 14 Figures 8

and 9 are examples of the damasquinado by the artist.

13 Ramiro Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar,” Narria: Estudios de artes y

costumbres populares 55-56 (1991): 33; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the Zuloagas,
41-46.
14 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 33; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the
Zuloagas, 44-49.
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Figure 4

True Damascene

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2021.

Plácido Zuloaga began using a “knifing”, or scoring, technique, shown in figure

5, in which the surface metal is scored with hatching and cross-hatching lines to create

“teeth” to adhere the precious gold and silver metals onto.15 Instead of engraving designs

that were usually composed of inlaying thick gold or silver wire, shown in Figure 4, he

incorporated gold leafing and thinner gold and silver thread into the process which could

then create even more intricate and delicate designs than had previously been allowed

with older techniques. It became so sought after and well-known throughout the artistic

15 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 35; Clare and Lins, Section: Physical
Finishing Techniques, False Damascene.
 23

world at the time that to wear or own a “jewel of Eibar” or an “object of Eibar” was

considered a great distinction and were in popular demand.16

Figure 5

Forming Teeth

Nicholson Files. Apex Tool Group LLC. 2104.

Spanish Technique

Compared to previous damascening techniques, the damasquinado involves

different and newly introduced metal techniques. To start a damasquinado piece, the

engraver must prepare the surface that is to be embossed, typically iron or steel, by first

16 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 33; Dr. Nasser D. Khalili, “Foreword,” in The
Art and Tradition of the Zuloagas: Spanish Damascene from the Khalili Collection,
James D. Levin (Oxford: Oxford University, 1997), 8.
 24

putting the metal into a flame until it has turned a dark blue or blackish color.17 This

darker coloration of the surface metal is one of the distinctions that the piece is a

damasquinado and not a damascene, as the latter does not require firing in order to

embed the gold or silver into the metal. Ramiro Larrañaga has been able to find much

information on the technical process that was used in Eibar, specifically at the time that

the Zuloaga family business was at its peak, in his 1968 article “El Damasquinado de

Eibar.”

Figure 6

False Damascene

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2021.

17 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 37; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the
Zuloagas, 16-19.
 25

Once the metal has reached a sufficient temperature, it is then removed from the

flames and the surface can then be scored, instead of carving grooves and engraving lines

into the iron or steel. The metal surface is scored by a knife, as shown in Figure 6, like

the kind that is used to make the marks on a file, making hatching and cross-hatching

marks on the metal where the design is planned to go, which gave this technique its

name, “knifing”.18 Sometimes, if a lot of metals are to be used in the design, then a third

cross-hatching is scored into the metal to give it the “teeth” necessary to hold onto the

gold or silver. This scoring process also helps to reinforce the darkness of the surface and

gives it a matte finish once everything is complete.19 The Philadelphia Museum of Art

has listed this type of damascening as a “false” damascene, or not a true damascene, and I

believe they are correct in that the techniques differ.20 However, while the damasquinado

is completely different than the damascene, there is nothing false about it, and, in fact,

requires more work to create a masterpiece than previous metalworking techniques and

methods, as we will see.

After being scored, the metal is then fired again before being burnished with a

metal-burnishing tool and placed back into a fire or kiln. After another burnishing, the

object is then removed from firing and the precious metals of gold thread or leaf and

silver thread can be placed onto the metal with an adhering paste, that Larrañaga calls

“pikia”, a mixture comprised of brown sugar, or “red powder”, resin, and wax or lard.21

18 Clare and Lins, Section: Physical Finishing Techniques, False Damascene.

19 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 35-36.
20 Clare and Lins, Section: Physical Finishing Techniques, False Damascene.
21 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 36.
 26

A hammer is used to fasten the gold and silver to the paste with soft, small strikes to keep

it in place. The object is fired again, then the gold and silver are hammered again to

ensure that they adhere well to the metal surface which is then burnished and fired before

the real design work can begin.22 After the long process of preparing the surface of the

metal and adhering the precious metals, such as 20k and 24k gold, silver, and copper, into

harder ones, typically iron or steel, the artist can now use a small chisel and hammer or a

punch to create intricate designs into the gold leaf. The designs of this time consisted

mostly of whatever was popular for the International Exhibitions of the 1840s and 50s

and fashion of the French nouveau, such as Renaissance motifs and Gothic imagery,

which received much praise from the French press.23

22 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 36; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the
Zuloagas, 16-19.
23 Larrañaga, “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 33; Levin, The Art and Traditions of the
Zuloagas, 8.
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Figure 7

Item# 61650, Heart-Shaped Pendant Necklace

Manufacturas Anframa. Steel, silver, gold, and niello. 16”. 2021.

After the designs have been set into the precious metals, the object is then fired

for a final time, but this one includes a sealing wax process to make sure that the piece

stays together forever. Part of this sealing process includes a “blueing” technique that

leaves the surface, or background, of the object with a blueish or blackish hue, which is a

distinctive trademark of the damasquinado, as seen in the background of the pendant in

Figure 7.24 Larrañaga found two different techniques that had been used in Eibar during

the nineteenth century, though they differ somewhat in materials and methods; for

example, the older technique requires the use of caustic soda and nitrate. The newer

technique, that was given to Larrañaga by the director of the Eibar Damascene School

and was in use at the time, only requires heat and water.25

24 Larrañaga. “El damasquinado de Eibar”, 37; “The Ancestral Tradition of Damascene,

Gold and Culture of Toledo.” Artesania Tradicional Toledana, (March 2016).
25 Larrañaga. “El Damasquinado De Eibar”, 37.
 28

Design

Due to the infusion of cultures from the North Africans and Romans, there are

typically two types of designs that one will find on a damasquinado from the 1800s. One

is of Renaissance origin, brought down from the Continent, and the other is of Arab

descent having been introduced during the North African occupation.26 The Renaissance

designs usually contain birds, vines, and story elements of mythological, religious, or

historical content, if the object being damascened is large enough. A damasquinado with

an arabesque design will consist of geometric shapes, lines, floral motifs, and usually an

Islamic inscription, but the inscription is not always present. Both designs result in a

variety of beautiful pieces that can only be compared by design and/or preference.

26 “The Ancestral Tradition of Damascene, Gold and Culture in Toledo,” Artesania

Tradicional Toledana, (Published March 2016); “What is the Art of Damascene?”
Manufacturas Anframa (2020). Design.
 29

Figure 8

Fonthill Casket

Placido Zuloaga. Eibar. Dated 1870-71. Iron, gold, silver, and niello. Toledo, Spain.

The Italian painters and sculptors that were popular during the Renaissance were

well-known all across Europe, their reach even expanding into the Iberian Peninsula with

the takeover of the Catholic monarchy in the fifteenth century. The Fonthill Casket,

featured in figure 8, is a great example of this type of design style as it contains many

iconic images from the Renaissance era, such as cherubs, animals, and curling vines

intertwining together. This is a cassone, or a “marriage” chest in Italian, that is meant to

be rich and showy to display one’s wealth, and was commissioned by the English art

collector, Alfred Morrison, who became the “modern-day equivalent to an Italian

 30

Renaissance patron”.27 Morrison commissioned works from Zuloaga for the next twenty

years, even after the fall of the Spanish royalty that left Plácido in debt and without any

way to support his workshop and workmen.28 Plácido Zuloaga used a variety of

techniques and methods in making this piece in Figure 8, such as damasquinado and

niello, allowing him to create depth and detail in the designs. There are many different

motifs used on the chest, but the most recognizable images are the cherubs, or putti, on

the front of the chest next to the lock and the satyrs on top of the lid, a clear sign of

Renaissance influence, which in turn was inspired by the Greco-Roman myths and

legends that are being represented here. Along with the twisting, curvilinear vines

intermingled with flowers, animals, and animal parts, there is no doubt that the design for

this damasquinado took after the designs and influences of the Renaissance artists.

Though many settlers from the Maghreb (region of North Africa) converted to

Christianity after the surrender in 1492, the arabesque designs continued to stay popular,

with both artists and clients, in the Spanish provinces and thrived in the Iberian region.

Another popular design layout for the damasquinado comes from the time that the

country was part of the Muslim kingdom, consisting of geometric shapes, quatrefoils,

pointed arches, and inscriptions. Many of these patterns, designs, and motifs are still used

in modern-day versions of the damasquinado.

27 Levin, The Art and Traditions of the Zuloagas, 54.

28 Elspeth Moncrieff, “Masterpieces of the Zuloaga Family Courtesy of a Middle-Eastern
Millionaire: From Gunmakers to Silversmiths,” The Art Newspaper (1997); Levin, The
Art and Tradition of the Zuloagas, 71.
 31

Figure 9

Pair of Iron Urns

Plácido Zuloaga. Eibar. Dated 1877. Iron, gold, and silver.

Plácido Zuloaga was as well versed in this design style as in the previously

mentioned Renaissance style, as seen in figure 9, a set of damasquinado urns, dated to

1877, as signed by the artist. These were also commissioned by Alfred Morrison and

showcase the various styles of design that Plácido Zuloaga was familiar with, as well as

the many different influences on the production process. The purely decorative urns,

meant to resemble the medieval Spanish, or Alhambra, vases, use both gold and silver to

create the distinctive patterns and designs, such as the pointed arches on the upper and

lower sections, the gold-wrapped, silver-framed quatrefoils on the feet, and the ten- or

eight-pointed stars in the upper portion of the works.29 The curling vines and repeated

29 Moncrieff, “Masterpieces of the Zuloaga Family Courtesy of a Middle-Eastern

Millionaire”; Levin. The Art and Traditions of the Zuloagas, 83.
 32

patterns on the handle are reminiscent of the designs of the Damascus sword, which we

spoke about in Chapter 1, that lends its name to the damascene and damasquinado

objects. On closer inspection of the piece, one can see the different pieces and hand-

marks involved in making the design, such as the gold leaf and the details chiseled into it,

the thread that is used to make the border lines, and punches to make the quatrefoils in

the silver on the bottom. He also used the “blueing” technique in his work as the surface,

or background, which is much darker than it should be, meaning that there was a mixture

imbedded into the scored surface and was fired to help the metals set and give the surface

the signature color of a damasquinado.

Objects

Both the cassone (Figure 8) and the urns (Figure 9) are beautiful pieces by Plácido

Zuloaga that represent the two most prominent styles of design that were popular at the

time, both in Spain and across the world. These pieces by Zuloaga also represent a shift

in the nature of the objects that were being damascened at the time, from weapons and

armor to jewelry and art. For much of history, personal arms were considered an

important costume accessory that, when properly damascened, “proclaimed the status of

the bearer;” however, with women entering the market, new objects had to be made.30

Due to the popularity of the damasquinado in France and Italy, new clientele of foreign

women and aristocrats opened a whole new market to the damasquinado masters. The

goal of this small and exclusive metalworking industry then became selecting smaller

30 Khalili, “Foreword”, 8.
 33

pieces aimed at this new, broader clientele. Pieces including decorative objects, like the

cassone and urns, jewelry, and elegant everyday items, like platters and clocks.31

As Dr. Khalili says about the damasquinado, “it was inevitable that the generation

of great patrons should come to an end, and in order to ensure the continued survival of

the art itself, its practitioners were obliged to seek a different outlet, a new type of

customer.”32 This trend of making smaller items that appeal to a broader audience

continued on in the world of the damasquinado into the twenty-first century, allowing the

artform to continue to enjoy a popularity that is just as strong as it was when the artform

first gained attention, as I will discuss in the next chapter.

31 Larrañaga, “El Damasquinado De Eibar”, 33; Levin. The Art and Tradition of the
Zuloagas, 13-15.
32 Khalili, “Foreword”, 8.
 34

Chapter Three: Modern Adaptation of the Damasquinado

Not all ancient artforms can boast that they have helped to shape the

contemporary society of a country due to still being in popular demand and is still

practiced today, having been modernized to current consumer trends. The damasquinado

can say this, and more, having been modernized and adapted to new markets and

audiences, thus continuing its relevancy into the modern age due to the combined efforts

of the artists, merchants, and consumers involved in the creation and manipulation of

traditions and markets. The damasquinado has become an important artistic

representation of the people and history of the Iberian Peninsula, being an item that

tourists have come to expect to see when they are visiting and exploring the ‘exotic’

objects for sale. From the artists that still preserve the metalworking practice to the

companies that mass-produce the objects and jewelry for tourists, the damasquinado has

helped to shape contemporary society of Spain.

Modern Master: Óscar Martín Garrido

The preservation of the damasquinado style of metalworking takes root in the

same place that it was born: in the workshops of Toledo and with the assistance of the

Toledo City Council and the master metalworker, Óscar Martín Garrido. Martín Garrido

was a student of the great damasquinado master, Mariano San Félix, born in 1938, who at

the age of 13 began training in the metalworking artform before he eventually taught and

assisted Martín Garrido in his efforts to adapt and modernize the damasquinado to retain

its relevancy in the contemporary art market. Due to the remarkable combined efforts of

the Toledo City Council and master damasquinador, Martín Garrido, the art of the
 35

damasquinado is held as a cultural tradition in the city and workshops33 are held

throughout the year to teach the next generation about the metalworking technique and

continue to keep the Spanish spirit and heritage alive. 34

Ever since his childhood, Óscar Martín Garrido, born in 1975, was interested in

the arts and specifically in the crafts and trades that he grew up around as he frequently

visited the typical tourist shop that his mother worked at and slowly learned more about

the damasquinado. In this way, he was introduced to the great local artists, such as his

future teacher and mentor, Don Mariano San Félix, who would become the biggest

influence on Martín Garrido’s art. In 1993, Martín Garrido began studying damasquinado

in earnest, taking classes at the Toledo House of Crafts and the Taller Garcilaso de la

Vega de Toledo school and accepting an apprenticeship at the workshop of Master San

Félix.35 Just seven years later, Martín Garrido partnered with Mariano San Félix and

Carlos Maria San Félix to found his first business venture, Tres Culturas, in 2000 whose

goal was to reintegrate the damasquinado into the public by creating their own designs

and products and giving metalworking classes. 36 This gave Martín Garrido the

confidence and experience to establish his own business, De Cuatro, in 2004, combining

33 GoCraft Toledo SL offers tours that include a workshop with a master artisan in the
crafts, swords, and damascene, this last one is specifically run through the workshop of
Óscar Martín Garrido, in which he teaches the history of the damasquinado, the methods
and techniques, and ends with creating your own custom damascene piece.
34 “Biografía,” Artesanía Tradicional Toledana; Toledo City Council. “The Government
supports the conference of the damascene Oscar Martin Garrido and highlights his role as
ambassador of Toledo,” La Cerca.com, Noticias de Castilla-La Mancha (2018).
35 “Biografía,” Artesanía Tradicional Toledana; ENCLM, “Oscar Martin Garrido
presents in Toledo “Damasquinado, un arte viva,” En Castilla-La Mancha News (2016).
36 “Biografía,” Artesanía Tradicional Toledana; Toledo City Council, La Cerca.com.
 36

exhibition and sales work with different shops in Toledo. He has exhibited his works in

many socio-cultural events, both at the local level, such as craft fairs like Castilla-La

Mancha FARCAMA and art exhibitions like Torreon del Puente de San Martín de

Toledo, and on the global level, such as attending the Spanish Fair in Japan and

exhibiting at EuroDisney in Paris.37 He has also won several awards for various

competitions, such as winning first prize, collaborating with designer Isabel Cañedo, in

the design contest at the Crafts of Castilla-La Mancha, a national finalist in the Le city

Project, and the 2016 Castilla-La Mancha Artisan Awards. 38

Besides his impressive résumé, Martín Garrido is largely responsible for the

preservation and continuation of this ancient and beloved metalworking artform, as well

as helping to modernize and adapt it to the demands of modern buyers and consumers. He

was heavily influenced by the artist that taught him the damasquinado, Don Mariano San

Félix, whose design style aligned mostly with the traditional Renaissance artists, as seen

in Figure 10: birds and flowers. Though these designs are still found on some of the

smaller pieces like pendants and necklaces, Martín Garrido realized that the current era

calls for modern designs. The modern use of images such as landscapes, cityscapes, and

people are mostly contributed by Martín Garrido and his master, as we will see, which he

derives from the local region of Toledo and Castilla-La Mancha. He is well-known for

his cityscapes of Toledo or the landscapes of the surrounding area and his ‘quixotes’

37 “Biografía,” Artesanía Tradicional Toledana; Toledo City Council, La Cerca.com.

38 “Biografía,” Artesanía Tradicional Toledano; Toledo City Council, La Cerca.com.
 37

taken from the local folklore The Adventures of Don Quijote, depicting scenes from the

story on plates or trays.39

Figure 10

La Quijote

Mariano San Félix. 2004. Steel, gold, and silver. 25-30 (cm).

In 2014, Óscar Martín Garrido produced a couple of damasquinado plates, each

ranging from 25 to 30 centimeters, that portrays iconic scenes from Part One of Don

Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605). Figure 11 illustrates how the damasquinado has

affected Spanish culture, both historically and in the present day. In Quijote y Sancho

39 Toledo City Council, La Cerca.com.

 38

Cabalgan Juntos, Martín Garrido depicts probably the most memorable scene from the

book, when Quijote and Sancho come across the field of windmills. Quijote takes them to

be giants at first and sallies an attack on them, until finally admitting defeat because some

magic must have turned the giants into windmills. Using the damasquinado technique

that has been passed down to him from his master, Martín Garrido uses a mix of gold,

silver, and copper embedded into the famous Toledano steel that the city is known for.

Like most plates, the ones used in this series are round, causing the design to radiate out

from a central point, with the main image in the middle surrounded by an intricate border

broken with small portraits at the cardinal points, top, bottom, left, right (north, south,

east, west).
 39

Figure 11

Quijote y Sancho Cabalgan Juntos

Óscar Martín Garrido. 30 cm. Gold, silver, iron, and steel. 2014.

The main, or central, image of Quijote y Sancho Cabalgan Juntos, shows two

figures standing in the middle of a road that runs through a field with rows of crops and

miniscule windmills in the far background (see Figure 11). Don Quijote de la Mancha is

easily recognizable by his center placement and by his being mounted on his noble steed,

Rocinante. He wears highly polished golden armor and holds his equally shiny helmet in

his right hand, placed against his breast as though lamenting his loss to the windmills,

and a lance-like spear in his left hand, held up in a casual and relaxed position as he looks
 40

away from Sancho, gazing into the distance. The rest of his outfit, from the gilded sleeves

and trousers to the polished gloves and boots, as well as the elaborate decoration hanging

off of his horse, clearly shows the wealth Don Quijote possessed before declaring himself

a knight and starting his adventures. To the left of Quijote, dutifully stands his portly

“squire” Sancho Panza wearing more demure clothing: such as tunic and trouser, with

simple, plain peasant shoes. He is also holding his hat in his left hand against his breast,

just as Quijote is doing, staring in the same direction, as though both figures are fixated

on the same point in the distance. Sancho’s right arm is around the neck of his ride, a

donkey named Dapple, that is carrying a large, embossed shield on the right side of the

animal, that is almost as large as the body of the beast. The head of the donkey is down,

tucked into the side of Sancho, almost as if mimicking his master, and the head of Don

Quijote’s horse is also turned down, as if in mourning or lamenting something along with

the human atop it. Behind the protagonist and his sidekick, there are neat, little rows of

silver-detailed crops going off into the distance, using diminution by getting smaller as

they approach the horizon. Darker regions, indicating the use of a caustic solution to

create that distinctive “blueing” effect, indicate rolling hills that go off into the distance,

some of which have a shining, silver windmill on top, at least five, lined up on the

horizon. Above the windmills, the dark sky is patterned with clouds that give the

appearance of moving towards the right of the image, in the same direction that the

figures are looking.

Surrounding this central image, is a very intricate and detailed border featuring

twisting and curling silver vines with small delicate leaves attached, and a complex
 41

golden filigree bundle at the ends, touching the portraits. At each cardinal point, up,

down, left, and right, is a portrait of another character from the novel, each complete with

the same ornate frame of gold and silver, their placement more than likely representing

their importance in Cervantes’ story. At the top is a young woman with her arms up over

her head as though she is washing her hair, wearing plain, peasant-like clothing, leading

one to believe that she is probably Dulcinea del Toboso, whose real name was Aldonza

Lorenzo. She was a neighboring farm girl whom Quijote renamed and designated as his

“lady love”, questing forth to fulfill deeds in her name; she, however, knew nothing about

Don Quijote or his adventures.40 At the bottom is the portrait of a noble-looking

gentleman who wears a flamboyant collar, reminiscent of those seen on caricatures of

William Shakespeare, leading to the assumption that this must be the author from the

novel, Miguel Cervantes. Regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language, it was

only logical to fill this spot with the author’s portrait; however, I feel like a portrait of the

fictional author, Benengeli, whose texts were being “translated” for this novel, would

have been more appropriate. The portraits on the left and right are a little harder to

identify, as there are very few, if any, identifying features for these two; however, based

entirely on the clothing, the two figures seem to resemble the heroes of the story, Quijote

and Sancho.

40 Encyclopedia Britannica.com, s.v “Don Quijote, Novel by Cervantes.” (2020).

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Don-Quixote-novel
 42

The novel of Don Quijote has a lot of importance and significance to the city of

Toledo, as the protagonist hails from the La Mancha region of Spain, which historically

included the city of Toledo. The “hero”, Alonso Quixano, is an aging hidalgo, or a

member of the lesser Spanish nobility, whose bad habits of not taking care of himself or

sleeping properly, have allowed his mind to believe all the fantasy in his novels about

chivalry. Wanting desperately to follow in the footsteps of those heroic figures in his

books, Quixano dubs himself Don Quijote, the neighbor girl as his princess, and set out

on adventures full of heroism and chivalry, or so he thought. After causing plenty of

mischief, sometimes winning but most times losing, Quijote recruits the services of the

lowly farmer, Sancho Panza, under the promise that one day Panza would have an island

of his own to rule, but who soon realizes that he has bitten off more than he can chew, as

Quijote’s adventures almost always ends in trouble for both men, with Panza having to

clean up after the wannabe “knight”.

This specific scene being depicted on the plate is when the duo comes across

some fields with windmills and Quijote declares them to be giants, seeing their defeat as

his means of attaining glory and honor as a knight. In the novel, however, upon engaging

the windmills in a battle, Quijote quickly breaks his lance and receives multiple injuries.

Sancho Panza comes to his aid and scolds him for trying to attack the windmills, calling

it “foolish”, to which Quijote responds that a wizard, by the name of Freston, turned the

giants into windmills to deprive the “knight” of his victory. Looking at Figure 10, it is

clear that Quijote has not yet broken his lance as it is intact, being held aloft, and his
 43

shield is still attached to the little donkey’s side, as it is not yet needed for the sally, so

this scene must take place before.

Each of the small portraits that sit on the edge of the plate, at the north, south,

east, and west positions, portrays an important character from the novel that helps to

move or project the story forward into motion. Each one of these portraits has been

painstakingly detailed in gold and silver, with the distinct dark background. Dulcinea, the

girl pictured in the top portrait, represents the driving force behind Quijote’s adventures,

motivating him to complete quests in her name to win her favor and love in a chivalric,

knightly way. The other two portraits are slightly more self-explanatory as they are the

elements of the novel that move the story along, even through their outrageous and

troublesome adventures. The image of the author, Cervantes, in the bottom portrait, is the

creator of the fiction, without whom there would be no adventures or even a story, and

the motivation behind everything. The figures that were chosen in this piece represent the

effects of tourism on the damasquinado by the exploitation of the literary and traditional

elements that are used in this artwork.

Mass-Production Businesses

In addition to the efforts of the Toledo City Council and local artists, such as

Martin Garrido, another source of the modern-day damasquinado is derived from the

high demand of tourists looking for ‘exotic’ souvenirs to bring back home with them that

are both readily available and cheap. Today the tourist art market keeps expanding, as

consumers are able to travel more and buy more but have less time to wait around for an

item to be custom made, making way for companies, such as Manufacturas Anframa, to
 44

have ready-made souvenirs available to buy as soon as tourists step off the plane.

Founded in 1970 in Toledo, Spain, Manufacturas Anframa has become a staple in

industrial damascene and damasquinado market around the world, exporting their

products to more than fifteen countries, including Mexico, Russia, and the United States,

however, they maintain their headquarters in Toledo. They also boast an impressive

resume of over 3,000 references and hold an international presence at art fairs around the

globe, such as the Ambiente Frankfurt, Hong Kong Gifts, and Index Dubai.41

Though these replicas have little artistic freedom or customization, they no less

represent the style, design, and technique that is put into the original damasquinado and

gives the buyer an impression of having bought an ‘authentic’ souvenir. Producing their

pieces in ‘seasons’, Manufacturas Anframa has also realized the need to modernize their

products and even offer a special customization service, complete with free prototype, to

create a product that suits the buyer’s needs, such as a gift shop in an amusement park.

Anframa has also partnered with the famous fine-glass maker, Swarovski AG,

incorporating the popular ‘crystals’ into their pieces, like bracelets and necklaces,

featured in Figure 12, bringing in another consumer group.42 This is another example of

how the tourist market has shaped, and will continue to shape, the designs, styles, and

pieces of damasquinado that are being produced.

41 Manufacturas Anframa. “About Us”, Anframa for Businesses, accessed December

2020.
42 Manufacturas Anframa, “About Us”.
 45

Figure 12

Custom Bracelet

Manufacturas Anframa. 2020. Iron, gold, silver, and Swarovski crystals. 6/10 x 6 ½ (cm).

A perfect example of Manufacturas Anframa incorporating modern designs into

their pieces is Figure 13, which is a decorative plate that is listed on the company’s

website as part their current 2020 seasonal catalog. Named Item #21031, or Flamenco

Dancers, the decorative plate measures 6 cm in diameter. It is part of a series of flamenco

dancers in different settings, the price is available upon request, as typical sells are in

bulk orders, and the materials listed as used for these pieces is steel with laminated 24k

gold; a true business model. The design that was chosen for this piece is a great

representation of the difference between a damasquinado created by hand and the mass-

produced pieces that are sold to gift shops or tourist attractions.

 46

Figure 13

Item# 21031, Flamenco Dancers

Manufacturas Anframa. 6 cm. Iron with laminated gold. 2020.

The image used here looks as if it was taken off the front of a Spanish tourist

pamphlet that one would find in the lobby of a hotel, using motifs and icons that are

representative of the country of Spain as a whole, not just Toledo or Castilla-La Mancha.

The focal area are the two dancers performing the national dance of Spain in the middle

of an alley or on a side-street plaza. The left dancer is the male partner of the duo wearing

the special dance shoes for flamenco dancing, similar to tap shoes, with his arms raised as

though clapping along, keeping time with the music. His female counterpart, seen

wearing the traditional flamenco dress, also known as a sevillana or “gypsy” dress, with

her hair styled in the traditional bun-like knot and decorated with flowers, is holding her
 47

hands up in the air, mid-gesture that would emphasize the emotion that dancer wanted to

convey along with their dancing.43

Around the dancing pair are other motifs that would remind a tourist of their visit

to Spain, such as the alley depicted to the right of the couple with the brick archway and

wrought-iron lamp fixture attached to the wall. On the left of the dancers are two iconic

images. One is the poster on the wall of the well-known “sport” of bullfighting, depicting

a matador waving a cloak in front of a charging bull.44 Right below the poster on the wall

are three potted plants to the side of the plaza where the dancers are performing. They

have fluffy flowers blooming from long, thin stems, most likely the national flower, the

red carnation. The border of the plate, unlike Martín Garrido’s intricate and complex

border, is very simple in both design and technique, as it is a combination of two thin,

fine lines running around the outside and a third line inside the two that flairs inward.

Other small details include the groupings of bricks on the wall behind the dancers, as well

as the checkered plaza ground they are dancing on, and a window can be seen on the

building opposite the one we are looking at.

Though this is a beautiful replica of the modern damasquinado and the company

is based out of Toledo, birthplace of the damasquinado, there are many noticeable

differences between the Martín Garrido piece and the Anframa piece that reflect the

43 “Flamenco Dress: History and Origin of This Andalusian Dress.” El Palacio Andaluz
(January 2019).
44 Barnaby Conrad. “Matador.” Encyclopedia Britannica.com (December 2009).
 48

difference in hand-made and ready-made damasquinados.45 One telling sign that the

Anframa piece in Figure 13 is not a genuine hand-made piece is the border that encircles

the main design of the plate. The border consists of two lines with an arching inner line,

which is very simple and does not refer to either of the two traditional design styles,

geometric or Renaissance. Martín Garrido’s work, unlike the mass-produced piece, has a

more thought out and complex border design that also references the original Renaissance

design styles that were employed by Martín Garrido’s master and teacher, San Félix, with

the twirling vines and floral patterns, reminiscent of the cassone by Zuloaga in Chapter 2.

Another reason that the two pieces differ is the techniques that are used to give the

illusion of depth. Along with the linear perspective in the lines of the window and street

disappearing into the distance, the Anframa piece in Figure 13 uses a technique called a

“repasado”, or ‘the finish’, in which after using tools of various shapes and sizes, the

artists will burnish the gold, giving it a sense of chiaroscuro. 46 Óscar Martín Garrido,

however, uses both silver and gold, along with an oxidized background, combined with

burnishing, or repasado, to create a fully detailed and realistic piece that reflects both the

traditional, modern, and hand-made damasquinado (see Figure 11). The last difference

that I will mention is the chosen designs and motifs for each piece, which is much more

revealing as to who the target audience and consumer groups are, as well as to why the

piece was made. For example, the chosen design for the Anframa piece is a very

45 Asher Bentolila. “Damascening: an ancient technic still alive in Toledo,”

JewishToledo and JewishSegovia (June 2018).
46 Manufacturas Anframa. “Luxury Damascene.” Anframa for Businesses (2020).
Accessed December 2020.
 49

‘generic’ scene that one would expect to find at any tourist destination in Spain, from the

performers of dance and bullfighting to the national flower and memorable architecture,

all combined from different parts of the country and lacking any specificity or realism.

Óscar Martín Garrido, however, chose a design that represents the origins of both the

artist and the artform by using the world-famous and iconic characters of Don Quijote

and Sancho Panza, who hail from the Castilla-La Mancha region and whose adventures

reflect the trials and adaptation that damasquinado faced in the light of new markets and

new consumers.
 50

Chapter Four: The Relationship between Tourist Art and the Contemporary

Damasquinado

Traditionally, the term “tourist art” has always referred to the cheap trinkets and

souvenir knick-knacks that tourists and visitors buy from local vendors or airport gift

shops when traveling abroad around the world. This notion has been reinforced by the

fact that the materials used were typically of cheap quality, with repetitive designs

consisting of motifs and icons, that would represent the tourist’s idealized version of the

place they were visiting. There has been much debate and discussion on the subject of

tourist art that, along with new data, reveals a new commentary on the quality and social

uses of this artform and why it is so appealing to the tourists the acquire them.47 This

analysis has helped to reveal a relationship between the damasquinado and the tourist art

market, the influences that have helped to shape each, and the dialogue that continues to

occur between these forces.

What is ‘Tourist Art’?

Tourist art is essentially the dialogue that occurs between the tourist market and

the local vendors that participate in it, as it is “the negotiation and renegotiation of a

society’s conception of its own traditions”, both for local and non-local audiences.48 As

Victoria Rovine said, “Tourist arts effectively express hybrid identities, created in

response to the expectations and perceptions of non-local audiences.”(27) The local

47 Bennetta Jules-Rosette, The Messages of Tourist Art: An African Semiotic System in

Comparative Perspective (New York: Plenum Press, 1984), 16.
48 Victoria Rovine, Bogolan: Shaping Culture Through Cloth in Contemporary Mali
(Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2008), 143.
 51

artists and merchants of tourist arts must have an understanding of the tourist art market,

what their audience’s perceptions and expectations are, and discard those styles and

designs that are not seeing a demand so as to be successful. Tourist art is considered by

some to be an economic commodity, an expectation for those who travel frequently, that

can also reflect several aspects of its environment and origins. Some of these aspects

include the social organization and market demands of the new environments in which

tourist art is made and how those factors affect the production of new works of art. The

growth of new local markets and the exploitation of these markets for the survival of

certain arts, like the damasquinado, by traditional or “grassroots artists and artisans” is

another aspect that is reflected in tourist art. And, finally, this artform also “implies an

indirect relationship between economic factors and cultural expressions”49 through this

necessary exploitation and commercialization that transforms tourist art into international

market commodities. In other words, tourist art is influenced by many factors that

continue to help it evolve as an artform and a market commodity.50

To focus on one of these factors, the tourist themselves are the most influential

factor in how the tourist art market has developed and changed as tourist seek more from

the tourist experiences than they have previously. Tourism is the search for “authenticity,

or, more exactly, the search for authentic experiences.” (MacCannell, 589) While

speaking about tourist expectations, Dean MacCannell, a professor at University of

49 Jules-Rosette, 31.
50 Jules-Rosette, 31; Jules-Rosette goes into detail about the commodification of tourist
art and the social, environmental, and economic influences that were involved with that
process, including the art market.
 52

California who has written much on the subject of tourism, suggested that an early form

of tourism was religious pilgrimages, wherein the motivation behind both are “quests for

authentic experiences.”51 The “tourist consciousness” is described as a force that drives

the tourist to make excursions into the everyday life of the of the society they visit in

their search for authentic experiences.52 However, it is often difficult for the average

tourist to tell if the experience is truly “authentic” or not since the creation of the “tourist

setting.”53 These are sets designed to make the tourist think they are seeing the “behind-

the-scenes” real-life of the society, but instead are still part of the superficial, staged

experience that is set-up for the tourist, as per their expectations. While some tourists

may be more forgiving for some of the superficiality of these staged areas, the quality and

insight that comes out of these tourist experiences has been criticized as “less than

profound” and “morally inferior” to the real experience. 54

51 Dean MacCannell, “Staged Authenticity: An Arrangement of Social Space in Tourist

Settings,” Journal of Sociology Vol. 79, no. 3 (1973): 589-593; MacCannell explains in
depth the touristic desire for authentic experiences and the merchant or tour guide
understanding of this leading to the creation of guided tours through staged areas that
represent the idealized versions of the place they are visiting, but not actually be a real or
authentic experience.
52 MacCannell, 597-598; MacCannell defines the meaning behind his term “tourist
consciousness”, the tourist desire for authentic experiences, and how that has impacted
the tourist market, specifically with the merchants and/or tour guides.
53 MacCannell, 596-598; MacCannell defines the term “tourist settings”, in which, using
the theoretical approach by Erving Goffman about the “back-front division” that separate
tourist from local, MacCannell structures the staging process into 6 levels that gradually
reveal more of the setting to the tourist as if they are being shown a glimpse into the
authentic.
54 MacCannell, 599.
 53

Tourist Arts Relationship to Damasquinado

As it has always been considered more of a luxury item, it was only natural that

the damasquinado gravitated toward tourist art, especially as tourism started to become a

more popular way of creating income in the country. Through our examination of more

recent pieces, we can see how the effects of tourist art market have influenced the

creation of modern damasquinado, how the damasquinado tourist art has influenced the

region in which it originates from, and how those influences have formed a close

relationship between damasquinado, tourist, artist, merchant, and community. The

influences and relationships formed between the many aspects of the tourist art market

have also helped to shape the economy and society that exist in Spain.

Since the late 1800s, the damasquinado has been a part of the slow-growing

tourist trade that was emerging during that time, when visitors to the Art Expos in France

would purchase these works from the vendors that brought their wares to the

exhibitions.55 The growing market of aristocrats and women, artists and merchants, like

the Zuloagas, changed what objects they were damascening and selling, from large, bulky

swords and armor to small, delicate jewelry and serving trays or platters.56 The

merchants were able to understand and quickly adapt to the changing audience in their

markets and were able to convey this to artists who then adjusted their objects and

designs to those new consumers. More recent examples of this adaptation to new markets

come from the new artists, like Óscar Martín Garrido who incorporates new designs into

55 Larrañaga, 33; Khalili, “Foreword,” 8.

56 Larrañaga. “El Damasquinado De Eibar,” 33; Khalili, “Foreword,” 8.
 54

his damasquinados and the Manufacturas Anframa customizable works for more specific

tourist vendor needs.57 With the incorporation of “modern” designs, which have included

examples such as cityscapes, historical figures of importance, and Disney characters (see

Figure 14), the damasquinado is a versatile medium that can be adapted to the changing

attitudes of tourists and the tourist market, while still maintaining clear links to the earlier

form. While some older artists may consider this work by new artists as “distorting

authentic forms,” others believe that this change is necessary for these older artforms to

stay relevant in a contemporary era with modern consumers.

57 Asher Bentolila. “Damascening: an ancient technic still alive in Toledo,”

JewishToledo and JewishSegovia (June 2018).
 55

Figure 14

Custom Plate Disney Shanghai VIP Gift

Manufacturas Anframa. 2016. Iron, gold, and silver. Toledo, Spain.

The damasquinado is such an important part of the culture and heritage of the

people of Toledo that much of their community activities and events are based around the

production of these beautiful artworks. Referred to as a “great ambassador of Toledo,”

Martín Garrido has led many initiatives, activities, workshops, and events for the history,

technique, and understanding of the damasquinado of which he is the only current active

artist in the city.58 His love of the artform and his ability to mix techniques, form new

creations, and create new formulas is what has helped to keep the artform alive in both its

58 Toledo City Council, La Cerca.com.

 56

original and modernized forms. The damasquinado has been called “the most

consolidated tradition of” Toledo and considered to be the city’s artform all across the

world which is why tourist flock to the city during their visit to the country of Spain.59

The adaptation of the damasquinado to the tourist art market and the

encouragement that the participants of those markets receive from their community forms

a relationship that has helped to keep the artform alive for hundreds of years along with

keeping it relevant in the current century. The ties between the people of Toledo and the

art of damasquinado can be observed in the design used in the artworks that reflect the

origins of the art, the workshops that invite new learning and encourage improvement in

the art, and the many merchants and vendors that sell and communicate with the tourists.

In the hands of capable artists and designers, the damasquinado proves to be a rich

combination of the older traditions and the modern adaptations, providing a necessary

tool for the expression of the relevance each hold for the other. This relationship between

artist, merchant, and tourist has resulted in tourist arts that incorporate modern designs

and techniques that still reflect the early renditions of the artform and the people, while

still maintaining a level of demand by local and international audiences.

59 “Biografía,” Artesanía Tradicional Toledana; Toledo City Council, La Cerca.com.

 57

Conclusion

This exploration of the history and origins of the damasquinado has revealed an

interesting narrative about the intertwined relationship between the artform and the

people and culture that it is derived from. Not only have the damasquinado artists

sustained old demands and developed new markets for the damasquinado, demand

outside Spain from tourist vendors has also created new audiences for artists and

merchants. This analysis of the damasquinado and its changing styles, designs,

techniques, and markets has divulged the interesting complexities of contemporary

Toledo, in which diverse cultures coexist, meld, and produce new forms. The artists that

make and market the damasquinado are skilled in the selection of specific stylistic and

contextual features of the metalworking that appeal to touristic preconceptions of

“traditional” Spanish culture. However, the use of the specific technique of inlaying gold

or silver into steel or iron, the use of a caustic formula that creates the distinctive

“blueing” on the surface, and the incorporation of geometric patterns or Renaissance

designs, either alone or in combination, are reminiscent of the early damasquinado. Even

if one element is discarded, such as in the case of the bulk, mass-produced vendor

options, links to the artwork’s earlier forms are still maintained through contextual

information provided by the object, merchant, designer, or artist. Global cultural

influences are just as much a part of daily life as the local, indigenous practices,

showcasing the broad social themes in the complex environment of contemporary Spain.

The journey of the damasquinado has helped to shape the contemporary society of the
 58

country of Spain while simultaneously being shaped by the tourist art market, both

locally and internationally.

 59

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