IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. WOOD, SILVER, GLASS. PORTUGUESE SCHOOL, 18TH CENTURY.
Antiques - Sculpture
Reference: ZF1324
Immaculate Conception. Carved and polychromed wood, glass, silver. Portuguese school, 18th century. A wooden sculpture depicting a young Mary, clasped in prayer before her chest, standing on a cloud from which winged angels' heads emerge. She wears a tunic with a flowing mantle, the garments adorned with flowers, waves, and other motifs, combining polychromy and gilding. She wears a silver crown with architectural and vegetal elements of strong classical influence, which shows no contrasting marks. Beneath the cloud is a rectangular, gilded wooden base decorated with architectural and vegetal elements in relief. Note that the back is also decorated, bearing a label added after the work's completion. Based on its iconography, it appears to be a sculpture of the Immaculate Conception. This is one of the most common depictions of the Virgin Mary in Spanish Baroque art, and it is also frequent in other schools (where the Virgin of the Conception or the Immaculate Conception is more commonly used). This devotion features an iconography whose development began in Spanish Gothic art, reflecting a desire to emphasize the purity of the Mother of Christ. Initially, it included details from the Vision of Saint John on Patmos and elements from the Marian Litany, but these were simplified over time. Stylistically, the movement and certain details of the cloak reveal a Rococo influence, an artistic movement that originated in France (where it flourished between approximately 1730 and 1760) and spread to other European schools. A sculpture quite similar to the one in the Portuguese church of Nossa Senhora da Vila, Nossa Senhora do Bispo e Silveiras (officially: União de Freguesias de Nossa Senhora da Vila, Nossa Senhora do Bispo e Silveiras), Évora, is known to exist. Dating from the second half of the 18th century and considered to be of the Portuguese school, it has not been possible to find further details about its authorship. This sculpture also features a base similar to that of this one.
· Size: 21x15x56 cms
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