PROPERTY FORMERLY IN THE ROMEO JORGE COLLECTION
San Jose Peregrino (Haciendo Genuflexion ) (Genuflecting ) Saint Joseph The Pilgrim -
early 18th century (early 1700s)
molave hardwood (Vitex parviflora)
height: 28 1/4" (72 cm); width: 11 1/2" (29 cm); length: 9 1/2" (24 cm)


PROVENANCE: Nabua School (Nabua town and environs, Camarines Sur)



This genuflecting “San Jose Peregrino” (Saint Joseph the Pilgrim) portrays the saint with Sinitic facial features (almond eyes, fine nose, rosebud mouth); his hair and moustache/beard are articulated in a specific eighteenth century manner; he wears a “tunico” tunic with a wide collar and a belt where the ends of his “capa” cape are inserted; his “peregrino” hat hangs on his back; his capa hangs from the left shoulder and drapes on the right; his right foot and sandal are visible as he genuflects, certainly before the Christ Child in the manger. The small statue certainly formed a part of a long–dispersed “Belen” tableau/Nativity tableau /Christmas creche. “San Jose Peregrino” (Saint Joseph the Pilgrim) is a depiction of Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ, distinguished from other titles by a hat hanging on his back as well as holding a traveler’s staff which differentiates him as “San Jose Patriarca”/Saint Joseph the Patriarch, “San Jose Esposo de Maria”/Saint Joseph Spouse of Mary, “San Jose Labrador”/Saint Joseph the Worker, “San Jose Dormido”/Sleeping Saint Joseph, “El Sueno de San Jose”/The Dream of Saint Joseph, “El Transito de San Jose”/The Happy Death of Saint Joseph, et al. San Jose Peregrino refers to the challenging traveling episodes of Saint Joseph’s life: the trip to Bethlehem with a pregnant Mary to register for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus and the birth of the Christ Child; the sudden trek of his new family to Egypt to escape the Massacre of the Innocents ordered by King Herod; the return trek of his family from Egypt to Nazareth in Israel; the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus Christ was twelve years old. Antique santos of the “Nabua School” from Nabua town and environs in Camarines Sur are a distinctive lot, apart even from those conservative but colorful ones of Bohol and the eccentric ones of Siquijor. Mature hardwoods were plentiful from the surrounding forests and there was no need to economize on materials. Church santos became large, solid, robust. Even the smaller tabletop santos exhibit the characteristics of mass and heft. Baroque Inmaculadas are more voluptuous. Baroque “Bell” Virgins are fuller, rounder. Neoclassical Inmaculadas are sleeker. Male santos are massive and stiff in posture. (Augusto Marcelino Reyes Gonzalez III)