Peruvian Viceroyalty School of the XVIII century

Peruvian Viceroyalty School of the XVIII century.
"Descent from the Cross".
Alabaster (Huamanga) polychrome and rubies.
Presents faults.
Remains of polychrome.
Measurements: 22 x 24 x 9 cm.

Sculptural group of round bulk entirely carved in alabaster representing the descent of the body of Christ from the cross. We see Christ slightly displaced in the center, accompanied by Joseph of Arimathea, Mary, kneeling on the ground holding the inert arms of her son and St. John the Baptist. The work, which stands out for the quality of the carving, expresses an idealized beauty of restrained and sober gestures. Only the figure of Christ possesses a greater dramatism due to the serpentine posture of his dead body. The Huamanga stone is a type of alabaster (lime sulfate) extracted from quarries located in the districts of Pomabamba, Chacolla, Canchacancha and Chuschi, in the province of Cangallo, Peru. It obtained the Quechua denomination of niño rumi (child's stone) in allusion to the religious sculptures of the child Jesus that proliferated in the viceregal era, and for 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 viceregal period or of apogee in which the religious thematic predominates. 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 sculptural school (influenced by Spanish carvers from Navarra and Aragon) 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 passage of time it became known as 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 the Spanish colonial domination, in the Latin American regions of the Viceroyalty, a mainly religious painting was developed, destined to Christianize the indigenous peoples. Local painters were modeled on Spanish works, which they followed literally in terms of types and iconography. The most frequent models were the harquebusier angels and the virgins.