Lot 111D
New World, Mexico, Spanish Colonial style, ca. 19th century CE. A brightly painted folk art nicho, built from wood and with a tall pedestal painted to have a bell hanging from its apex. Open the wood-framed glass door of the nicho and inside you will find an interesting and rather uniquely-posed santo depicting the Virgin Mary standing atop a crescent moon. Her draped clothing is exquisitely carved and her head is capped by a crown. Our Lady of Guadalupe is often depicted with the crescent moon upturned beneath her feet; Rubens' Baroque altarpiece painting, Mondsichelmadonna (Madonna on the Crescent Moon), is an example of this iconography from Freising Cathedral in Germany. This powerful symbolism has obviously spoken to many religious people throughout time. Size: 10.9" L x 20" W x 28" H (27.7 cm x 50.8 cm x 71.1 cm)
The nicho itself is painted largely a pale pink, with white, grey, and red details and two faux columns framing its door. The back and sides are undecorated, allowing us to imagine it being placed into an altar with only its front exposed to the viewer. Folk art religious expressions like this one, carved by individual worshippers who may not have been professional artists, speak to the importance of venerating the saints in Spanish Colonial-influenced 19th century Mexico.
Santos played an important role in bringing the Catholic Church to the New World with the Spanish colonists. These religious figures were hand-carved and often furnished with crowns, jewels, and other accessories, usually funded by religious devotees, and were used as icons to explain the major figures - Mary, Christ, and the saints - to new, indigenous converts. Likewise, they served as a connection to the Old World for Spanish colonists far from home. They became a folk art tradition in the Spanish New World, from modern day Guatemala to as far north as New Mexico and Colorado. Many of them were lovingly cared for over the years, with repairs and paint added as they aged, and played an active part for a long time in the religious life of their communities.
Provenance: private D. C. collection, California, USA; D. C. is an Emmy Award winning Hollywood writer and Executive Producer, collected before 2000
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#126513
- Condition: Expected wear on surface from age and handling, with small areas of loss to pigment as shown. Santo has areas of loss to paint and some craquelure as shown, with small areas of overpainting, as is very common with santos. Glass on nicho is new, as is loop and hook for closing it.
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