I did not know anything about this tradition of painting before I encountered this piece. It certainly is the most peculiar thing. I shall recount the history briefly, but I am sure that if you have got this far, you probably know more about 'Angeles Arcabuceros' than I do. It is simple to find out more and see further examples with a simple Google search- I think that you will agree that the one I have here is rather nice.

'Angeles Arcabuceros' are martial angels, reinvented in Peru in the school of Cuzco in the 17th century. Instead of the traditional swords and shields that an apocryphal angel would more usually carry, our Peruvian angels are armed with 'Arquebus'- a 15th century muzzle-loaded, long fire arm with a match-lock (used through to the 17th century).  They don't look very Peruvian because they are wearing Spanish fashions, copied from Spanish and Dutch engravings that would have been brought over by colonising Spaniards- the Andean social elite who commissioned these angels may have copied this style of dress also- I am not sure.

Anyway- I don't think this is a 17th century angel- I think it is more likely to be one of the second wave of 18th century 'Angeles Arcabuceros' made to meet demand and produced in larger workshops (also in Cuzco). 

The result is a fantastic- South American meets European, folk art/icon meets European Baroque. Dandified angels go bad. The costume detail is sumptuous and the imagery is bizarre.

This angel has been painted on canvas- possibly removed from a stretcher, or maybe never mounted on one- but then laid against board at a far later date as can be seen. I am no expert and would love to find out any further information about this painting if anyone out there has any knowledge.

Please contact me if you have any questions and I shall be happy to answer as quickly as possible.

Thanks for looking.