Our Lady of Mount
Carmel:
One of the most elegant and lyrical of the santos in
Oaxaca. Extremely good condition: only one chip (toward
the bottom of the pedastal) where the gesso is showing.
The Child figure is carved as part of whole statue; it is
naked but for a polychrome pale green "cloth," with arms
outstretched to hold the scapular and eyes fixed on the
mother. The Virgin's habit has a floral design, blue
petals with gold centers and brown and gold stripes in the
background, edged with a red and gold floral design. On
the right side, toward the bottom, the paint has worn
away, leaving bare gold patches. The mantle is pale
green/blue bordered with a polychrome gold and blue floral
design. The Virgin stands on a "rug" whose design seems
more 18th-century than 16th; this and the good condition
of the statue would suggest that this is not one of the
original 16th-century santos.
Local Name: La Virgen del Carmen.
Basis for Identification: Scapular,
brown robe adaptation of the brown Carmelite habit,
holding child, halo embellished with stars (11 visible).
Site: Church of San Lorenzo
Zimatlán.
Media and construction: Polychrome.
The garments are so well preserved that it is impossible
to say whether they are part of the carving or are
real cloth that has been stiffened. Eyes (both figures):
glass.
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca
main altar, Cuilapan, Ejutla, Etla, Guelavia, Huitzo, Teitipac, Teposcolula,
Tlaxiaco,
Xoxocotlán,
Zaachila.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of
Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Mexico
Wikipedia: Our
Lady of Mount Carmel, Virgen
del Carmen (in
Spanish).
Christian Iconography: Our
Lady of Mount Carmel
Next: Our Lady of
Sorrows
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