Cup decorated with barniz de Pasto

Colonial coconut cup, probably intended for the consumption of cocoa-based beverages. The decoration is made with what was called by the Spanish "barniz de Pasto" (Pasto Varnish), from the name of the Colombian city in which the indigenous groups who developed this technique lived. They called it "mopa-mopa", like the resin of the Elaeagia pastoensis plant: dyes were added to the resin, heated in water to give it a rubbery consistency, then it was then stretched into films of different colours. Finally, these were applied to artifacts of various types: mostly wooden, such as trunks, but also to dried coconut and pumpkin tree fruits that were used to create cups called jicaras. The impression is that the objects are painted, hence the reference to a "varnish" by Pasto. In colonial times this traditional technique was greatly appreciated in the creation of vividly colored floral and faunal motifs that sent European consumers back to exotic production environments.