Panama Hat Poster Lady
by Al Bourassa
Title
Panama Hat Poster Lady
Artist
Al Bourassa
Medium
Photograph - Photographic Artworks
Description
Consuelo Jimbo seems to be the official poster gal for a local Panama Hat manufacturer. Most people think that Panama hats are made in Panama but this is not the case.
A Panama hat (toquilla straw hat) is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the Carludovica palmata plant, known locally as the toquilla palm or jipijapa palm, although it is a palm-like plant rather than a true palm.
Panama hats are light-colored, lightweight, and breathable, and often worn as accessories to summer-weight suits, such as those made of linen or silk. Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, panamas began to be associated with the seaside and tropical locales.
The art of weaving the traditional Ecuadorian toquilla hat was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists on 6 December 2012.
The hat known today as the Panama hat was produced in Ecuador as early as the seventeenth century.
Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe, subsequently acquiring a name that reflected their point of international sale, “Panama hats”, rather than their place of domestic origin. The term was being used by at least 1834.
The popularity of the hats was increased in the mid-nineteenth century by the miners of the California Gold Rush, who frequently traveled to California via the Isthmus of Panama. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States visited the construction site of the Panama Canal, and was photographed wearing a Panama hat, which further increased the hats’ popularity. The hats were later worn by many early-twentieth century film stars during films.
The Ecuadorian national hero and emblematic figure Eloy Alfaro helped finance his liberal revolution of Ecuador in the late nineteenth century through the export of Panama hats.
This artwork is derived from a photograph taken Nov 7/13 during Expats Day in Cuenca, Ecuador, South America nestled in the Andes Mountains.
NOTE that the Fine Art America watermark will NOT appear on any purchased product.
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I do hope you enjoy my work. Comments are graciously accepted. Favoring is greatly appreciated and will garner a response. Purchases are fantastic!
You may see more artwork for sale at http://saccc05.tripod.com/
Uploaded
August 12th, 2014
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Comments (5)
Lisa Holland-Gillem
Congratulations, your work is being featured in the FAA group All Types of Women!
James Lanigan Thompson MFA
Splendid
Al Bourassa replied:
THANK YOU James for favouring this artwork and also for the kind FEATURE in your great group BEAUTY.