CHILE’S ARTS AND CRAFTS Most artisans in Chile are carrying on the family tradition and learnt their craft from their fathers. Chile’s most traditional handicrafts represent the country’s rich cultural heritage, for they are closely related to its pre-hispanic cultures and indigenous peoples. The Mapuche, Aymara and Easter Island communities are worth mentioning. MAPUCHES (the Araucarian region, South Chile). Their handicrafts mainly consist of jewels in silver -most exquisite archeological reproductions of earrings & necklaces, pendants and rings, many set with small gemstones-; decorated baskets in natural fibers; traditional rugs, mats and sweaters; wall hangings, wraps and typical Mapuche instruments. EASTER ISLANDERS (3800 Kms from Chile’s continental territory). Handicrafts in shells and native seeds; carvings in timber, stone and whale bone; instruments; coral ornaments from the reefs off the island; necklaces made from seeds named ‘kete-kete’; figures of little birds carved from wood; bracelets set in silver; polished Mother of Pearl; and their famous ‘Moais’ (reproductions of their typical statuettes). AYMARAS (Highlands, North Chile) Handmade ‘Alpaca’ wool hangings, blankets and sweaters; knittings, cardigans and gloves; traditional Aymara instruments; clothing of all colours and shapes. Also famous are the Chiloe Island’s handmade wool sweaters and rugs, small leather items and figures of ‘Palafitos’ (their distinct style of housing) carved from wood; the Pomaire’s pottery made of clay; and Chimbarongo’s cane furniture and basket/wicker work. COPPER, LAPIS LAZULI AND WOOD LAPIS LAZULI. The most attractive handcrafted goods both to locals and tourists are Chile’s famous lapis lazuli crafts. Lapis lazuli, which literally means ‘the blue stone’, can only be found in two countries in the world, Afghanistan and Chile. The Chilean version is strictly speaking regarded as the authentic one because it has a higher content of the mineral lazurite which gives a stronger blue colour compared to the more violet Afghan stone. Chilean lapis lazuli also contains streaks of white and grey. These are a result of higher percentages of the minerals calcite and wallostonite, adding pleasant hues to the decorative items. There are many legends concerning the use of lapis lazuli by the indigenous Diaguitas and Molle people, long before the Spanish or even the Incas came to the area we call today the region of Coquimbo. There is, however, no scientific or archeological evidence confirming this supposed use, although that doesn’t stop local manufacturers producing ‘Diaguitesque’ jewellery in lapis lazuli. COPPER. For the past one century, Chile has been the largest producer and exporter of copper in the world. To local people, copper represents Chile’s national product. It is, therefore, one of the main raw materials used by craftmen in the production of decoration plates, candlestick holders, wall clocks, Chilean maps, figures of animals, landscapes and flowers, ashtrays, trays, and many other small copper items. WOOD. Wooden crafts can be found in many different forms from furniture to dolls’ houses and instruments. Artisans can take their pick from the vast swathes of forest down south. They point out, however, that they are eco-friendly and that they only use wood that was felled some years ago. IMPORTS FROM INDIA Indian Handicrafts and Decoration items are currently being imported into Chile by Indian nationals settled in this country (both in Santiago and Iquique) and large departmental stores. The four main handicraft items imported from India in the year 2000 were: 1. 2. 3. 4. Other statuettes and ornaments Statuettes and ornaments of wood Other imitation jewellery Other articles of wood Following are the country-wise import statistics for the above items. OTHER STATUETTES AND ORNAMENTS H.S. CODE 83062900 India Country CIF Amount 484,428.08 Share 32.51% USA China Italy Spain Netherlands Taiwan Peru Thailand Philippines France Mexico Indonesia Vietnam UK Morocco Bulgary Panama Hong Kong Brazil Germany Syria Bolivia Argentina Japan South Africa Non specified origin South Korea Nepal Switzerland Sweden TOTAL 385,181.67 236,214.86 120,801.95 55,420.86 39,721.42 37,934.41 35,020.80 23,339.25 10,912.83 10,569.56 7,260.05 7,154.09 6,007.26 5,867.53 3,965.06 3,594.20 3,470.21 2,770.40 2,594.07 2,508.26 1,414.71 1,033.32 912.39 540.68 409.63 308.23 339.16 147.71 110.83 66.23 1,490,086.94 25.84% 15.85% 8.10% 3.71% 2.66% 2.54% 2.35% 1.56% 0.73% 0.70% 0.48% 0.48% 0.40% 0.39% 0.26% 0.24% 0.23% 0.18% 0.17% 0.16% 0.09% 0.06% 0.06% 0.03% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00% STATUETTES AND OTHER ORNAMENTS OF WOOD H.S. CODE 44201000 Country CIF Amount Share India 414,079.31 25.44% China Indonesia Thailand Germany USA Philippines Italy Kenya Vietnam Taiwan Ecuador Netherlands Panama France UK Spain Salvador Peru Syria Israel Ghana Mexico Venezuela Greece Russia Belgium Morocco Non specified origin Costa Rica Argentina Brazil Hong Kong South Africa Paraguay Zimbabwe Colombia Bolivia Nicaragua Guatamala Denmark Nepal New Zealand 409,427.02 168,288.34 132,010.77 114,529.67 85,411.22 77,624.18 72,963.89 68,801.21 57,329.04 21,406.19 17,239.42 14,742.63 13,084.65 6,735.85 6,694.27 5,125.08 4,009.67 3,915.34 3,898.44 3,794.66 3,377.13 3,270.31 2,185.48 1,944.98 1,836.31 1,690.20 1,596.32 1,526.00 1,063.06 887.51 880.77 755.28 722.13 717.94 693.72 642.04 576.39 166.27 149.75 18.05 10.57 9.43 25.15% 10.34% 8.11% 7.03% 5.24% 4.76% 4.48% 4.22% 3.52% 1.31% 1.05% 0.90% 0.80% 0.41% 0.41% 0.31% 0.24% 0.24% 0.23% 0.23% 0.20% 0.20% 0.13% 0.11% 0.11% 0.10% 0.09% 0.09% 0.06% 0.05% 0.05% 0.04% 0.04% 0.04% 0.04% 0.03% 0.03% 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% TOTAL 1,627,519.13 100.00% OTHER IMITATION JEWELLERY H.S. CODE 71179000 CIF Amount Share China USA Spain Country 101,040.44 88,067.23 69,332.14 25.15% 21.92% 17.25% India 51,368.60 12.78% 20,516.16 14,800.70 14,413.90 7,015.56 6,929.15 3,998.79 2,976.69 2,876.43 2,556.17 2,437.92 2,420.74 2,099.40 1,834.09 1,676.41 1,387.60 1,022.16 795.81 601.32 344.42 325.00 193.80 128.60 51.76 14.23 5.10% 3.68% 3.58% 1.74% 1.72% 0.99% 0.74% 0.71% 0.63% 0.60% 0.60% 0.52% 0.45% 0.41% 0.34% 0.25% 0.19% 0.14% 0.08% 0.08% 0.04% 0.03% 0.01% 0.00% Peru Mexico Thailand Italy Argentina Russia South Korea Japan Czech Republic French Territory in Australia France Ecuador Indonesia Canada Brazil Taiwan New Zealand Germany Switzerland Paraguay Netherlands Non specified origin Costa Rica Venezuela TOTAL 401,716.01 100.00% OTHER ARTICLES OF WOOD H.S. CODE 44219090 Country China USA Spain Argentina Taiwan Latvia Brazil India Germany Philippines Mexico France Italy UK Hong Kong Peru Indonesia Non specified origin Netherlands Japan Thailand Syria Sweden Vietnam Polland Switzerland Panama Austria Denmark Pakistan Duty Free Zone, Punta Arenas Czech Republic South Korea South Africa Egypt New Zealand Paraguay Costa Rica Ecuador Canada Kenya Zimbabwe Colombia TOTAL CIF Amount Share 1,186,370.79 1,000,248.49 108,909.11 80,766.42 77,653.60 75,114.27 47,182.21 42.59% 35.91% 3.91% 2.89% 2.78% 2.69% 1.69% 36,859.82 1.32% 30,556.63 29,784.42 18,584.29 13,751.31 12,937.58 12,370.53 9,278.07 8,961.87 8,485.07 3,729.12 3,271.04 3,004.82 1,894.96 1,801.84 1,791.26 1,696.18 1,577.39 1,248.73 1,148.13 1,144.93 1,007.97 790.62 647.39 595.88 482.54 384.34 271.80 227.94 168.21 137.00 131.39 88.69 66.61 50.68 33.67 1.09% 1.06% 0.66% 0.49% 0.46% 0.44% 0.33% 0.32% 0.30% 0.13% 0.11% 0.10% 0.06% 0.06% 0.06% 0.06% 0.05% 0.04% 0.04% 0.04% 0.03% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 2,785,207.61 Other handicraft items being imported from India are: 100.00% Serial No. HS Code Description CIF Value (Thousand US$) 01 02 03 04 05 06 67021000 83063000 44209000 34060000 83061000 83062100 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 69139000 44190000 71171900 46021000 69120000 69149000 44211000 44182000 46019100 44151000 44181000 Artificial flowers, folige and fruit Photograph, picture frames Wood marquetry and inlaid wood Candles, tapers and the like Bells, gongs and the like Statuettes and other ornaments plated with precious metals Other ceramic statuettes and objects Table/kitchenware of wood Other imitation jewellery of base metal Basket/wicker work Ceramic tableware/kitchenware Other ceramic articles Cloth hangers of wood Doors, their frames and thresholds Plants and similar products of plating mat. Cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar Windows, french windows and their frames 37 37 33 29 29 26 21 14 12 9 8 7 4 3 3 2 1