**Originally Listed At $1500**

New World, Mexico, Spanish Colonial style, ca. 19th century CE. A hand-carved wood santo of a Franciscan monk with brown glass eyes, placed into a brightly painted wooden altar/niche. The saint stands with one arm raised in blessing, wrapped in a monk's robe, and holds in his other hand a trumpet - often a symbol of the archangel Gabriel rather than a Franciscan saint. The figure stands atop a two-tiered pedestal that is integrated into his carving. The altar is red, green, and yellow, with a broad lower platform. A hole drilled in its upper part may have once held a candle. Size of altar with santo inside of it: 6.5" L x 10.75" W x 12" H (16.5 cm x 27.3 cm x 30.5 cm)

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

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#120457

Wear to paint and overpainting.