The maquineta collection of Francisco Portugal Guimarães

Abstract

Private collections of maquinetas, gilded paper and lace altars in glass cases, produced at the Recolhimento dos Humildes in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, are rare. The collection of the architect and art historian Francisco Portugal Guimarães stands out in this limited universe and whose interview, which guides this article, brought new perspectives to the research. The 19 pieces that compose the collection add to the knowledge developed about this artistic phenomenon, where data external to the pieces themselves are scarce and come from oral tradition, with no documentation of the activity, nor of the purchase of materials, negotiations or contemporary reports. In addition to the typological and iconographic variety of the collection, there is the collector's experience as a restorer of the Church and Convent of the Humildes in 1977, a period in which he began acquiring maquinetas from where they were produced and used. In this process, he accumulated data provided by the owners, and through their restoration, which made it possible to dismantle and reveal important indicator-fragments. This analysis increased the types, confirmed stylistic features, technical characteristics and materials that indicate origin and time, as well as the specificities of the collector who stands out for his deep involvement with the objects he collects and their history.