Pair of guadamecíes; Andalusian school; XVIII century.

Pair of guadamecíes; Andalusian school; XVIII century.
Embossed, gilded and polychrome leather.
Damaged.
Measurements: 58 x 39 cm; 74 x 51 cm (frame).
Pair of guadamecíes that present a similar ornamental design, starring two gods of the classical pantheon, in one case Mars and in another Venus. Although Venus was married to the god Hephaestus, she began a relationship with the god Mars, who had fallen in love when he saw her. Thus initiating a courtship. Every night while Hephaestus worked, the two lovers would meet. This story is narrated by the aedo Demodocus in Homer's "Odyssey", who tells that it was the god of the sun, Helios, who discovered the lovers one night when they took too long.
The guadamecil or guadamecí, also known as Cordoba leather, was a product that originated in North Africa and was introduced in Spain in the 9th century. In Spain, these embossed leather tapestries were known as guadamecí, after the Libyan city of Ghadames, while cordobanes ("Cordovan") meant soft goatskin. In 1316, a guild of Cuir de Cordoue (Cordoba leather) existed in Barcelona. Spanish golden leather was popular until the early 17th century. In the 15th or 16th century, the technique reached the Netherlands, first in Flanders and Brabant, where it developed further. Although there were craftsmen in several cities (such as Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent), the main center of gilt leather craftsmanship was Mechelen. It was also exported to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, China and Japan. The last gilt-leather merchant in Amsterdam, Willem van den Heuvel, closed around 1680, but trade and production continued in Flanders and northern France. With the advent of printed wallpaper from around 1650, often imported from China and manufactured in Europe, the much more expensive leather wall coverings began to decline, although they continued to be used, in a rather revivalist spirit, in very luxurious homes.