17th century Hispano-Filipino Christ

Hispanic-Filipino Christ of the XVII century.
Carved and polychrome wood. Silver trimmings.

It presents lack in one of the eyes, besides a damage in one of the sides of the cross.
Measurements: 66 x 53 cm (Christ); 118 x 82 cm (cross).
Christ with three nails, in carved and polychrome wood. It is an image of Christ expiring, so that the pathos is enhanced by the half-open mouth, arched eyebrows and imploring eyes looking at the sky. The carving is extremely expressive, thanks to the author's skill in the naturalistic rendering of the wiry features and a slender torso in which the ribs are marked. The hair is worked with symmetrical and parallel incisions, as was typical of Philippine colonial art, but describes waves that imprint naturalness. The careful polychrome, which represents blood flowing from the wounds, as well as the black hair and beard, accentuate the verism of the whole. The image is placed on a beautiful carved wooden cross, topped with silver trimmings.
Through the maritime commercial routes, the appreciated oriental products arrived in Spain, which satisfied the great demand for luxurious and exotic objects. Ivory, a material of luxury and high esteem, meant prestige, economic and social power for its owner, and religious imagery made of this material was especially appreciated, designed for private devotion and often donated by the powerful to religious centers as a sign of faith. This Hispano-Philippine Christ reveals a set of artistic influences that fills it with content. It is a work of art made under the Spanish influence, filtered through America, and carved in the Philippines by both local and Chinese artists settled in the archipelago. The Sangleyes or Chinese of the Philippines, urged by the demand for Christian religious works, attended the Spanish orders having as models sculptures, prints or engravings sent from the metropolis, but without forgetting the features of the oriental anatomy. For this reason, the eyes are slanted, with bulging eyelids made with a double flange, configuring a face with protruding cheekbones that departs from the classical ideal of contemporary Europe. The anatomy, on the other hand, shows a clear classical base combined with the baroque naturalism typical of this type of pieces since the 17th century, but nevertheless denotes an introspective and hieratic sense that we do not find in European pieces. In fact, all these different characteristics, typical of its oriental origin, were highly appreciated in the metropolis.