Rustic Panama Hat
by Al Bourassa
Title
Rustic Panama Hat
Artist
Al Bourassa
Medium
Photograph - Photographic Artworks
Description
From Wikipedia:
A Panama hat (toquilla straw hat) is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin that is 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 was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists the 6th of 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 original. The term was being used by at least 1834.
Theodore Roosevelt visiting the Panama Canal construction site in 1904, pictured wearing a Panama hat.
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.
This artwork is derived from a photograph taken at the Panama Hat Museum July 25/12 in Cuenca, Ecuador, South America nestled in the Andes Mountains.
NOTE that the Fine Art America watermark will NOT appear on any purchased product.
All work is copyright protected and may not be used in any way without purchase.
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
May 17th, 2013
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