Large 19th C. Spanish Colonial Wood Saint with Lodged Bullets

拍品描述

North America, Mexico, Spanish Colonial, ca. 1800–1899 CE. A monumental santo carved from a single baulk of hardwood, the figure standing frontal and serene with hands drawn together at the breast in prayer. A veil falls in heavy lobes to either side of the rounded face, framing lidded eyes and a small closed mouth; below, the mantle breaks into broad vertical folds that taper to a plain plinth-like base. The surface has weathered to a silvered brown, its original polychrome and gesso long gone, leaving the grain and drying checks as the sculpture's only ornament. Almost certainly a Virgin, made for a church or cathedral niche and carried in procession. Two lead bullets remain lodged in the wood, with further impact scars across the body, testimony that this image stood witness to armed conflict, perhaps the insurgencies and anticlerical violence that swept 19th century Mexico. Size: 43" H x 11.5" W x 11.5" D (109.2 cm H x 29.2 cm W x 29.2 cm D). Santos, devotional images of the Virgin and saints, were the central furniture of religious life across New Spain and its successor republics. Larger examples like this one (called bultos when carved in the round) occupied altar niches and were dressed in fabric vestments on feast days, then shouldered through the streets in procession. Provincial workshops frequently carved them from a single trunk of cedar, mesquite, or colorin, a method that explains the deep radial checks seen on surviving examples. Mexico's long 19th century was punishing to church property: the War of Independence (1810 to 1821), the Reform War (1857 to 1861), the French Intervention, and the later Cristero unrest all saw sanctuaries occupied, looted, and used as strongpoints. Firearm damage to a sacred image is uncommon but not unknown, and it converts a devotional object into a historical document. Metallurgical analysis of the embedded projectiles could narrow the date and the conflict considerably. SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700. PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception. Item #204462

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