Christ in a Coffin
Sr.
Jescas says this figure is used in Holy Week
processions. It is very naturalistic and bloody. In
ten places, the artist has represented wounds by
actually breaking and bruising the skin (four in the
back, and two each in the backs of the thighs, the
shoulders, and the upper arms). Blood flows from these
wounds and from the crown and drenches the palms,
heels, and tops of the toes. The
figure is naked except for a red silk loincloth. The
paint seems relatively fresh.
Local Name: El Dios de la Muerte.
Location: North wall of the narthex
of the church (see note).
Media and construction: Wood,
gesso, paint. Eyes: glass, with lashes. Hair: sculpted .
Size: 50 inches (127 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Huitzo, Mitla, Tamazulapan,
Teitipac,
Teotitlán,
Teposcolula,
Tlacolula, Xoxocotlán
(in Soledad group), Zaachila.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of suffering Christ in a coffin.
Christ Child
Wearing a diadem. A broken left pinkie reveals
the wood. Idealized face.
Location: In a
niche between the narthex and the first column of the
south wall of the church (see note).
Media and construction: Wood,
paint, fabric robes.
Eyes: glass, some lashes.
Size: 17 inches (43 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla
(with Sacred Heart), Coixtlahuaca1,
Coixtlahuaca2,
Huitzo
(boy, not infant), Teotitlán, Yanhuitlán1
(in case with crucifix), Yanhuitlán2.
External Link:
Wikimedia Commons:
Baby
Jesus
Saint John the Baptist
The statue is of a piece with the pedestal. The
gilding of the cross is now much damaged, revealing
the wood beneath. The halo is gilded. The animal skin
is in carved wood but there is also a light cloak of cloth
stiffened and painted with
gold stylized flowers.
Local Name: San Juan Bautista.
Basis for Identification: Lamb
on book, animal skin, halo, floor-length cross in the
left hand.
Location: In a glass
case on the altar in the first bay of the south wall of
the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Wood,
cloth, gesso, paint. Eyes: glass, no lashes.
Size: 37 inches (94 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Coixtlahuaca,
Huitzo,
Mitla,
Tamazulapan,
Tamazulapan (as child), Teitipac,
Teitipac
(Beheading), Teitipac
(San Juanito), Teotitlán,
Zimatlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of
St. John the Baptist in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St.
John the Baptist
Wikipedia: John
the Baptist
Christian Iconography: St.
John
the Baptist, Prophet and Martyr
Resurrected Christ
Noticeable sheen to the knees and shins. Carved
nipples and fine detailing of the muscles and bones.
Basis for Identification: Loincloth
with scutum, raised right hand, no wounds.
Location: On a
shelf attached to the wall of the second bay in the
south wall of the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Wood
and fabric.
Size: About 3 feet (90 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Santa Ana del
Valle, Cuilapan,
Mitla, Teitipac,
Teotitlán, Teposcolula, Yanhuitlán, Zaachila.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of
Resurrection of Christ in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: Resurrection
of Jesus Christ
Wikipedia: Resurrection
of
Jesus
Christian Iconography: The
Resurrection
Virgin Mary in a Coffin
Apparently recent.
Location: On an
altar in the second bay in the south wall of the nave
(see note).
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ejutla, Coixtlahuaca,
Teposcolula.
Christ in the Purple Robe
Very bloody hands, toes, and face. Naturalistic
treatment of such features as veins and fingernails.
Part of the hair is a rusty red.
Basis for Identification: Standing
in purple robes, wearing the crown of thorns.
Other characteristics: White dress
under the purple robes.
Location: Along the south
wall of the nave, just west of the Chapel
(see note).
Media and construction: Eyes: glass.
Hair: real.
Size: 6 feet inches (188 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ejutla,
Etla (in the Soldedad
Group), Etla2,
Mitla, Santa Ana del
Valle, Tamazulapan,
Teitipac1,
Teitipac2,
Teitipac3,
Teotitlán,
Teposcolula,
Tilantongo,
Tlacolula, Xoxocotlán.
External Links:
The episode of the
purple robe is in John
19:1-5.
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of Ecce
Homo.
Our Lady of Sorrows
(Soledad
Local Names: Nuestra Señora
de la Soledad, La Virgen de la Soledad.
Location: Along the south
wall of the nave (see note).
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Santa Ana del
Valle, Coixtlahuaca,
Cuilapan,
Ejutla, Etla, Huitzo, Mitla, Teotitlán,
Teposcolula1, Teposcolula2,
Tilantongo,
Xoxocotlán,
Zimatlán.
External Link:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of
Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
Crucifix
No blood. The figure has both a silver diadem
and a crown of thorns of stylized weave.
Local Name: El Señor de la
Misericordia.
Location: In a glass
case on same altar as the Christ in the purple robe
above.
Media and construction: Polished
wood, white fabric loincloth. Hair: coarse wig.
Size: 26 inches (66 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Santa Ana del
Valle1, Santa
Ana del Valle2, Santa Ana del
Valle3, Cuilapan,
Etla, Guelavia,
Mitla, Nochixtlán,
Tamazulapan1,
Tamazulapan2,
Teitipac1,
Teitipac2,
Teitipac3,
Teitipac Our
Lady of the Rosary, Teotitlán1, Teotitlán2, Teposcolula1,
Teposcolula2,
Teposcolula3
(in Rosary case), Teposcolula
Convento1, Teposcolula
Convento2, Tilantongo1,
Tilantongo2,
Tlacolula1, Tlacolula2,
Xoxocotlán1, Xoxocotlán2, Xoxocotlán3, Xoxocotlán4, Yanhuitlán1, Yanhuitlán2, Yanhuitlán
Convento1, Yanhuitlán
Convento2, Yanhuitlán
Convento3, Yanhuitlán
Convento4, Yanhuitlán
Convento5, Yanhuitlán Ayuxi Chapel, Zimatlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Crucifixes
in
Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: Archaeology
of the Cross and Crucifix
Wikipedia: Crucifix
Christian Iconography: The
Crucifixion
Saint Joseph
The hands are well detailed, showing the
skeletal structure but not the veins. The figure wears
a simple robe of gessoed cloth. The Christ Child and
the lily stalk are recent.
Local Name: San José.
Basis for Identification: A
green lily stalk in the left hand, the Christ Child on
the right hand.
Location: Right of
the main altar, above what once was an altar.
Media and construction: Wood,
cloth, gesso, paint. Eyes: glass, with lashes.
Size: 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Santa Ana del Valle,
Cuilapan1, Cuilapan2,
Mitla1, Mitla2, Ocotlán, Díaz
Ordaz, Teitipac,
Teotitlán,
Zimatlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of Saint Joseph in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St.
Joseph
Wikipedia: Saint
Joseph
Christian Iconography: Saint
Joseph, Father of Jesus
Previous santo
Introduction
to Tlacolula
Santos Home Page
Note: On
this
site,
references to the cardinal directions always assume
that the main altar is at the east end of the church,
the narthex or entry area at the west end, and the two
walls
of the nave on the
north and south. (The
nave is the long central section.)
In the
case of the Chapel of the Lord of Tlacolula, which is
at right angles to the south wall of the church, the
altar is thus at the south end and the transept (the
two wings that give the building the shape of a cross)
comprises an east and west section. Actual
orientations may differ.
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