Early Spanish Colonial Santo-Madonna/Mexico/ 17-18th C.

Mounted ~ 12.75" tall

Head only ~ 9.75" tall / 4.75" wide / 6.5" deep.

This piece is made of carved wood with a painted gesso surface. The head is hollow and has inset eyes made of glass and alabaster (or marble). The lips are painted red and small inset teeth are visible in the mouth.

The darkened patina is very old, as you can see from the photographs, from centuries of use and being in a church where large amounts of incense was used.

This piece appears to be female and may be a representation of a female Saint, or possibly the Madonna - Jesus' mother, Mary. Other than the delicate features pointing to a depiction of a woman, there are no other identifying features.

The eyes are made using a very early technique. The eyes as a whole are made of a carved white stone, probably alabaster or marble, which is visible in the whites of the eyes. The black pupil and brown iris of each eye seems to have been made by first using a drop of black glass onto the white stone and then with a larger drop of brown glass covering the black drop. This must have been done using hot, molten glass applied right onto the stone eyeball.

This fine head fragment of a large and early religious statue is in good condition, as shown in the photographs. The photos represent it accurately and show areas of missing gesso surface, where the wood underneath is exposed, as well as the darkening to the surfaces from incense and handling. There are losses to both ears and a hole in the top of the head where a metal halo or crown was once placed.

The metal stand looks to be hand made and in good condition. There is a piece of white tape in place on the upright, used to keep the head in a straight position.

The price of this piece includes insured shipping within the United States. We are happy to hear from you by e-mail if you have any questions or need more information.