Hand punched tin has been used as a decorative
element on southwest furniture for well over 100 years. Much of what is
thought of as southwest tin art first came into use with the arrival of the
Santa Fe Trail. Originally, artisans used discarded tin containers to
fashion functional items such as candle holders. But soon religious items, mirror
frames and other art objects were also being produced. Many old museum pieces have the
original painted tin can labels on the back.
Today we use commercially available tin instead
of cans but it still looks the same with occasional minor scratches and
imperfections. The techniques our artist uses are also the same used long
before New Mexico became a state. Each piece is made one at a time using
hand made tools. As a result no two are identical. Each is a unique small piece of tin
art. We hope you will enjoy having this bit of
southwest history added to your hanger.
