Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient ChurchesA study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico
By Claire and Richard Stracke Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation In Tlaxiaco: Bust
of the Virgin Mary |
Our Lady of Mount Carmel |
Our Lady of Mount Carmel: Nothing is broken. Is this statue of modern construction? The surface of the face and hands has a powdery look as if of plaster, but it is conceivable that that look is an effect of the paint. Certainly the look is not nearly so powdery and dull as the typical plaster statues in U.S. churches. The figure wears earrings, four strings of pearls, a ring on the left middle finger, and a halo consisting of a circle of wire on which are set seven foil stars. The hair is done in a style like "dreadlocks." The Child is disproportionately small and sits awkwardly on the figure's left hand, with skin just like that of the Virgin.
Local Name: La Virgen del Carmen. Basis for Identification: Christ Child, brown habit and bib, white veil, scapulars. Site: Church of the Assumption, Tlaxiaco. Location: Northwest area of the apse (see note). Media and construction: Glass eyes, wig; parted lips. Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca
main altar, Cuilapan, Ejutla, Etla, Guelavia, Huitzo, Teitipac, Teposcolula, Xoxocotlán,
Zaachila,
Zimatlán. External Links: Previous santo Introduction to Tlaxiaco 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.) Actual orientations may differ. The photo shown here is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
license. You are free to share or remix it on two
conditions: first, that you attribute it to the
photographers, Claire and Richard Stracke, without
implying any approval of your work on their part;
second, that if you alter, transform, or build upon
this photo, you may distribute the resulting work only
under the same or similar license to this one.
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