19th C. Colonial Santo - St. Anthony / Christ Child

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All That Glitters | Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 10, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-12-10 12:00:00 2020-12-10 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : All That Glitters | Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/all-that-glitters-ancient-ethnographic-6192
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• Lot Description
  New World, Spanish Colonial, Mexico, ca. 19th century CE. A well-loved wooden santo with painted eyes depicting St. Anthony of Padua. In one hand, he holds a book with the Christ Child seated atop it; in the other he holds a lily stalk, representing his purity. He stands atop a tall, tiered wooden pedestal. He wears a tin halo and a worshipper has hung a thin chain around his neck. Size: 4.25" L x 4.625" W x 14.25" H (10.8 cm x 11.7 cm x 36.2 cm)
  
  The saint's robes are pale green, with gold-painted details and a white-painted rope with three knots in the traditional Franciscan style representing poverty, chastity, and obedience; he also has a gold-painted tin halo. His face is sensitively rendered, with brown glass eyes. A silver crucifix on a silver chain has been placed around his neck by a worshipper.
  
  St. Anthony was a Portuguese Franciscan priest and friar who died in Padua, Italy. Despite being born into a wealthy family, he was known for his intense devotion to the poor and sick, and holds the distinction of being canonized most quickly of all the saints. He is also known as the patron saint of lost things - objects, people, and souls. In art, he is often depicted with a book and the infant Jesus, based on a commonly told story of him reading a book and seeing the Christ Child's image in it.
  
  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 Francis & Lilly Robicsek Collection, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, acquired second half of the 20th century
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #120689

  Condition

  Fine craquelure. Some losses to paint and overpainting as shown. Baby is missing the lower part of two arms and a leg, and the saint's other hand has losses to the fingers. Wax in areas used for attaching accessories.
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