This small casket is a rare example of the development during the 17th century of the barniz brillante lacquer technique that is unique to Latin America. Barniz de Pasto (varnish from Pasto, the city now in Colombia most closely associated with the technique), is the name given to Spanish colonial era woodwork decorated using a distinctive lacquer like technique. Mopa mopa resin (Elaeagia pastoensis Mora) was gathered in the Andes, treated, dyed and stretched in filmy sheets, cut into detailed figurative forms and heat bonded to the wood so as to create a colourful and resilient finish. The use of coloured resin on woodwork predated the arrival of the Spanish. From the late 16th century it was applied by indigenous craftsmen under Spanish direction to European smaller types of woodwork, especially caskets and small cabinets, some of which were sent back to Spain as treasures from the new world. The decoration of the earliest barniz de Pasto products was created from layers of coloured resin. Somewhat later, possibly from the second half of the 17th century, a refinement of the technique added silver or gold foil or powder between layers of mopa mopa to create a metallic shine and intensify the colours, a technique now known as barniz brillante. Both techniques create designs of dazzling intricacy, full of vivid detail, realised here on almost miniature scale.