Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History - Introduction
Explore Puerto Rico’s history, from the 16th to the 20th centuries, through the eyes of collector Teodoro Vidal. Vidal captured the island’s history by collecting thousands of objects. Over 80 artifacts are featured here.
"Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History - Introduction" showing 81 items.
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Carnival Mask
- Description
- This papier-mâché mask was made by Miguel Caraballo in 1985. Masks like this are typically worn by young men from the neighborhood, who don the costume of a vejigante , a character who roams the streets during Carnival, playfully scaring children and other revelers, and swatting them with vejigas (balloon-like, inflated animal bladders).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1985
- maker
- Caraballo, Miguel Angel
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0002
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0002
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Carnival Mask
- Description
- Mask maker Antonio Muñiz has added the horns of a traditional carnaval de Ponce mask (usually representing a devilish face) to a gorilla. This papier-mâché mask has an articulated jaw and a vinyl tongue.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- maker
- Muniz, Antonio
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0009
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0009
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Máscara de Carnaval
- Description
- Although introduced by Spanish settlers, the island's carnival celebrations, like mask making, music, and public performance, have developed into uniquely Puerto Rican traditions that also reflect the customs and sensibilities of Puerto Ricans' African ancestors. This carnival mask pictured here was made by Félix Vázquez. Its comical eyelashes are complimented by a set of teeth that once belonged to a horse or donkey.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- maker
- Vazquez, Felix A.
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0012
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0012
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Máscara de Carnaval
- Description
- This elaborate mask, made around 1980, is painted in red and black, the colors of the city of Ponce. Masks like this are typically worn by young men from the neighborhood, who don the costume of a vejigante, a character who roams the streets during Carnival, playfully scaring children and other revelers, and swatting them with vejigas (balloon-like, inflated animal bladders).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0016
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0016
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Máscara de Carnaval
- Description
- Carnival celebrations featuring performers dressed as devils are found in Puerto Rico and the rest Latin America. The presence of these characters during Carnival is understood by many as an ancient reference to the contest between good and evil. The devilish mask pictured here was made for the carnaval de Ponce. Its collector, Teodoro Vidal, played a key role in publicizing the Ponce carnival and documenting its traditions of mask making and public performance.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0024
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0024
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Niño Jesús
- Description
- Jesus Christ is represented in a variety of forms in Catholic art and devotion, one of the most familiar being the scene of his crucifixion. Almost as frequently, Christ is shown as an infant, often being held by his mother, the Virgin Mary. This wooden figure of El Niño Jesús, the Christ Child, is from the late 19th century.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- Late 19th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0035
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0035
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Disfraz de Carnaval
- Description
- This homemade costume was made for the Ponce carnival. It has a cape attached at the neck made from the same black and red striped fabric (black and red are the colors of the city of Ponce). Carnival participants who wear costumes like this one, in addition to a mask, and other carnival accoutrements like matching shoes, canes, and gloves, are called vejigantes. Vejigantes are famous for playfully swatting at carnival-goers with a vejiga, a dried, inflated bladder. When a real animal bladder in not available, an empty water bottle is an acceptable substitute.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0047
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0047
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Water Jug
- Description
- Chickens are a familiar decorative theme in household objects. This contemporary chicken-shaped botijo, or water jug is made of terra cotta with a removable stopper in the form of a chicken head.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0082
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0082
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pilón
- Description
- This mortar and pestle were used to grind coffee beans after they were dried and roasted. Coffee was a major cash crop in Puerto Rico, second only to sugar. It grows well in the low mountains of the island, like the fertile area around the town of Yauco in the southwest. In the 19th century many Corsicans settled in this region and played a significant role in developing the island's coffee economy, both as growers and exporters.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1970
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0129
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0129
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Branding iron
- Description
- This branding iron was used in the 20th century to brand cattle with the letters "HC." While cattle and other livestock were introduced to Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean in the earliest years of Spanish settlement, by the 20th century most land on the island was geared towards a cash crop economy based on sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, and other agricultural products grown for export.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0138
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0138
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center