Chinese school. Qing Dynasty, late seventeenth-early eighteenth century.

Chinese school. Qing Dynasty, late seventeenth-early eighteenth century.
"Virgin and Child.
Carved wood, polychrome and gilded.
It has slight lack of polychrome.
Measurements: 25 x 11 x 8 cm.

This devotional sculpture belongs to the Chinese school of the Qing period, in a period of intense production of Christian imagery linked to the cultural exchanges promoted by the European missions in China.

The composition responds to a Western iconographic model, clearly derived from European Marian prototypes, but reinterpreted from a local formal language. The Virgin appears enthroned, with the Child on her knee, in a serene and frontal attitude. The facial features, softly idealized, nevertheless present an oriental sensibility in the treatment of the eyes, the nose and the restrained expression.

The throne of architectural character, schematic and vertical, reinforces the frontality of the image and refers to solutions typical of imported devotional sculpture, while the carving shows a synthetic modeling, of compact volumes, closer to the Chinese sculptural tradition than to European naturalism.

The combination of gilding with warm tones in flesh tones and vestments provides visual richness without losing the sobriety characteristic of many works produced in local workshops for Christian communities.

Overall, the sculpture is a significant example of Sino-Christian art of the Qing period, testimony to the dialogue between Western iconography and Eastern techniques and sensibilities.