Retablo Altar

Physical description

Tin retablo altar depicting 'Our Lady of Solitude.' The case of the altar is made of tin and glass. The top and bottom of the object form a trapezoid. Three of the four sides of the case are glass in a tin border. The back side of the case is tin that has been polished on one side to give it a mirror effect. Along the top edge of the case, there are decorative pieces of tin with scalloped edges. These pieces are also embossed. The front piece has a flower and leaves embossed into it. There are decorative pieces of tin along the bottom edge of the case too. These pieces have straight edges and are embossed with a half-circle design. Inside the glass, there is a small figure of a woman, created out of plastic and fabric. Her elbows are bent and her hands are joined together in prayer. Due to her large garment, most of the woman’s body is obscured from view. Only her hands and her face are visible. The woman’s eyes are closed. Her garment is a hooded robe that has a triangular shape. The garment is brown with gold seams and brown sparkles arranged into a sun motif. She wears a gold crown on top of her head. The woman stands upon a small tin base that has flowers embossed in it. In the background, there is a wooden frame to which there are tin foil flowers and leaves affixed. The flowers are orange, yellow, red and pink on the front and some are blue on the back. Stamped into the ceiling inside the case is the word is the word ‘Mexico’ written backwards. On the top exterior of the case, there is a small triangular hook. On the back of the altar, there is a small hole. There is also a number and some indecipherable words written. On the bottom of the object there is a number and some letters written in a white pencil.