Viceregal Peruvian School; 18th century

Peruvian Viceroyalty School of the 18th century.
"Descent from the Cross".
Alabaster with polycromed and rubies.
It has faults.
It conserves remains of the polychromy.
Measurements: 22 x 24 x 9 cm.
Sculptural group of round bulk entirely carved in alabaster representing the descent of Christ's body from the cross. We see Christ slightly displaced in the centre, accompanied by Joseph of Arimathea, Mary, kneeling on the ground holding the inert arms of her son and Saint John the Baptist. The work, which stands out for the quality of the carving, expresses an idealised beauty of restrained and sober gestures. Only the figure of Christ is more dramatic due to the serpentine posture of his dead body. The Huamanga stone is a type of alabaster (lime sulphate) extracted from quarries located in the districts of Pomabamba, Chacolla, Canchacancha and Chuschi, in the province of Cangallo, Peru. It was given the Quechua name of niño rumi (child's stone) in allusion to the religious sculptures of the child Jesus that proliferated in the viceregal era, and because of its fragility; it is also known as berenguela and replaces western marble. The stone carving of Huamanga is a characteristic artistic manifestation of Ayacucho. There are three stages in the artistic evolution of Huamanga stone carving. The Viceroyalty or heyday, in which religious themes predominate. Although there are alabaster quarries in various regions of Peru, in Ayacucho itself, there are also deposits in the province of Cangallo, a few leagues from Pomabamba and in Chacolla, it is in Huamanga where a school of sculpture (influenced by Spanish carvers from Navarre and Aragon) has developed since colonial times, which knew how to take advantage of the qualities of the material to produce various decorative and religious objects. Hence, with the passing of time, it became known as the Huamanga Stone. It was also popularly known as "niño rumi", "niño's stone", because it was used to make the "Manuelitos" for nativity scenes.
During Spanish colonial rule in the Latin American regions of the Viceroyalty, mainly religious painting was developed in order to Christianise the indigenous peoples. Local painters were modelled on Spanish works, which they followed literally in terms of type and iconography. The most frequent models were harquebusier angels and virgins.