TWO IVORY SCULPTURES. 17TH CENTURY.

Pair of ivory sculptures. XVII century. Both figures stand on darker bases. The female is dressed in a long, short-sleeved tunic, showing the sleeves of a shirt with delicate pleats, and a cloak on the shoulders that falls to the feet and covers the figure from the front. The male, elderly and bearded, also presents a cloth covering her waist to the feet, and the sleeves rolled up. Their identity is somewhat difficult to ascertain due to the lack of iconographic attributes, but their features and position suggest that perhaps they are two of the three figures that would have formed a Holy Family, missing the Child Jesus in this case and in the case of Mary and Saint Joseph. Or it is also probable that it is San Joaquín and Santa Ana, lacking in this case the figure of the Virgin Mary as a child. The high quality of the sculptures can be seen both in the material used and in the carving, with great delicacy in the folds and with a certain pictorialism in the hair. Stylistically, their belonging to the Baroque is clear despite the classicist influence they present, common in certain currents of this style throughout Europe. Between around 1600 and the middle of the 18th century, trade routes to the African coasts were recovered that allowed access to ivory from many European centers, coinciding with the development of the Baroque, especially in the area of the Netherlands and Central Europe, with a prominent center around the papal court of Rome and without forgetting the Hindo-Portuguese school. The theme varies, although there are more small religious works, highly appreciated by the upper class and important religious centers. As the seventeenth century progressed, the Italian classicist influence spread through Germany, Austria and the rest of the centers of central Europe, in some cases agreeing with a more traditional trend. It has an ivory expert document

· Size: 9x9x22 cms.