Southeast Asia, Philippines, Spanish Colonial Period, ca. 17th to 18th century CE. An endearing sculpture of the sleeping Christ child or Santo Nino Dormido - a popular santo during the Spanish Colonial period in the Philippines - hand-carved from ivory and painted in hues of tan, gray, brown, and pink. Wearing only a petite cloth over his groin, the pudgy infant lays on his back with his right hand held to his cheek and his left arm at his side - a pose reminiscent of the reclining Buddha. Both legs extend from his distended abdomen, bending at the knee as though kicking at his swaddle. His plump visage exhibits a serene countenance of closed eyes, a bulbous nose, a slight smile, and an adorable double chin. A thin brown coiffure crowns his head, sitting above a pair of naturalistically rendered ears. The holy child has been meticulously sculpted with every detail given careful attention, from the folds of flesh at each joint to the nailbeds of each finger and toe. Size: 5.7" L x 1.9" W (14.5 cm x 4.8 cm)

According to the Walters Museum of Art, "The Infant Christ was a favorite devotional image in Spain throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Appealing to sentimental piety, these images, often carved in ivory were frequently found in convents. Small ivory images of the infant Christ were among the favored subjects commissioned by Spanish traders in the Philippines (a Spanish colony since 1565) from local carvers, most of whom (at least initially) were Chinese, members of a long-established merchant community."

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 64.164.174, Museo Lazaro Galdiano (Madrid), 11873, and the Walters Museum, 71.405 and 71.406.

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 Jacksonville, Florida, USA collection; ex-Nordby private collection, acquired in the USA in the 1960's

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.

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#172326

A few stable hairline fissures to neck and shoulder areas. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nice remaining pigments.