Huamanga Stone Carving

Piedra de Huamanga is a soft white alabaster quarried near Ayacucho, translucent enough that a thin carving glows when held to light, and soft enough to work with knives and files rather than chisels. Carvers have used it since the colonial period, when it substituted for imported marble in religious sculpture, and the tradition continued into nativity groups, saints, animals, miniature churches and, in the twentieth century, secular scenes of Andean life. Good work is very fine - drapery, faces and hands at small scale - and the best carvers are known individually. Workshops operate across Ayacucho, concentrated in Barrio Santa Ana and near the market, and pieces are sold directly. The stone marks easily and stains, so it needs care; and buyers should be aware that softer, cruder pieces sold cheaply to visitors are a different thing from the work of a serious carver.

What you actually see

• The stone - soft white alabaster, translucent when carved thin.
• The subjects - nativity groups, saints, animals and scenes of Andean life.
• The technique - knives and files rather than chisels, worked at small scale.
• The workshops - carvers working and selling in Barrio Santa Ana and near the market.

When to go

Year-round. One to two hours visiting workshops. Holy Week and Christmas bring the largest range on sale, and the highest prices.

Honest expectations

Quality varies enormously and cheap tourist pieces are crude. The stone chips and stains easily - it travels badly without wrapping. Workshops are homes and keep irregular hours. Little English.

Nearby

Barrio Santa Ana is the main workshop quarter; Quinua's ceramic village is east.