Mary (from a nativity)

Ecuadorian and Philippine

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774

The ivory heads of Mary and Joseph were among the numerous such parts imported to America via the Manila Galleon trade. The style of the figures' polychromy, however, reveals that they were set into their wooden bodies in Ecuador. Artists there practiced a distinctive technique to embellish the garments of their sculptures, applying gold patterns over the colored backgrounds rather than scratching them through, as in true estofado.

Mary (from a nativity), Wood, polychromed and gilded; ivory touched up with polychromy (face and shoulders), Ecuadorian and Philippine

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L to R: 64.164.172; 64.164.174; 64.164.173

Mary (from a nativity), Wood, polychromed and gilded; ivory touched up with polychromy (face and shoulders), Ecuadorian and Philippine
Mary (from a nativity), Wood, polychromed and gilded; ivory touched up with polychromy (face and shoulders), Ecuadorian and Philippine
Mary (from a nativity), Wood, polychromed and gilded; ivory touched up with polychromy (face and shoulders), Ecuadorian and Philippine
Mary (from a nativity), Wood, polychromed and gilded; ivory touched up with polychromy (face and shoulders), Ecuadorian and Philippine
Mary (from a nativity), Wood, polychromed and gilded; ivory touched up with polychromy (face and shoulders), Ecuadorian and Philippine

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