South Asia, India, Goa, Portuguese Colonial period, ca. 17th to 18th century CE. A lovely hand-carved ivory santo of Saint Francis of Assisi holding a skull in one hand and a crucifix in the other. The holy figure is depicted in his traditional hooded cloak with a robe tied at his waist and tonsured coiffure. Gazing solemnly forward, he stands barefoot on a wooden box, perhaps intended to hold relics. Ivory devotional figures of this type were popular within the entire Portuguese empire following the spread of Catholic missionaries in the late 16th and early 17th century. Size: 1.1" W x 4.8" H (2.8 cm x 12.2 cm); 6.3" H (16 cm) on included custom stand.
According to the Minneapolis Museum of Art, "The province of Goa in western India was under Portuguese control from 1512–1961, forming a nexus in trading routes that circumnavigated the earth. Goan craftsman were renowned for their supple modeling of ivory (likely exported from Mozambique) into Christian icons, which feed the appetite for luxury products in Europe, as well as furthered evangelical missions throughout Asia and the Americas. Within the genre of Indo-Portuguese ivories, popular subjects include 'Christ as the Good Shepard' (the image of Christ as child would have related to similar bronze statuettes of the God Krishna) and the 'Virgin of the Immaculate Conception,' which shows Mary atop a crescent moon, both of which remain ever-present icons in South Asia's diverse religious landscape."
Similar Goan ivory sculptures of Saint Francis of Assisi can be found in the Reunion des Musees Nationaux (MA 12113), the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (53.26.35), and the Minneapolis Institute of Art (2019.10.15).
This is an ESA antique exempt piece of ivory and cannot be sold internationally or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece is over 100 years old.
Provenance: private Rancho Mirage, California, USA collection; ex-Dr. Terry Barreth collection, before 1965
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#179078
Condition
Small chip with possible repair to verso of head. Some light surface wear as shown, but otherwise intact with nice detail and liberal remaining pigments. Not fully attached to wood container. Modern adhesive on underside of santo.