Unidentified Dominican
Saint
In good condition.
Basis for Identification: Black and
white habit. Holds a basket of plastic fruit in the left
arm. Left hand holds a cross.
Site: Church of San Lorenzo
Zimatlán.
Location: 1st dais along the north
wall of the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Wood, gesso,
paint. Eyes: glass.
Size: About 4 feet (120 cm.)
Sacred Heart of Jesus
The statue is designed to wear its red and white fabric
garments: under them it is painted green without detail.
In good condition.
Local Name: El Sagrado
Corazón de Jesús
Basis for Identification: Heart
pinned to chest, cruciform halo.
Site: Church of San Lorenzo
Zimatlán.
Location: 3rd dais along the north
wall of the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Wood, gesso,
paint, fabric garments. Eyes: glass, with real lashes.
Hair: real.
Size: About 7 feet (210 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Cuilapan,
Huitzo, Tamazulapan,
Teposcolula,
Yanhuitlán, Zimatlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: Devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Wikipedia: Sacred
Heart
Angels
In a rather charming touch, two
angels can be glimpsed leaning onto the two front
corners of the choir railings and looking down into
the nave. Other angels stand in the choir in short
tunics, their bare arms raised.
Christ in a coffin
Raised knees under the velvet coverlet would suggest
that this statue is taken out during Holy Week to be
hung on a cross. The eyes roll back under half-closed
lids.
Site: Church of San Lorenzo
Zimatlán.
Media and construction: Eyes: glass,
with lashes. Hair: wig, no hair beneath the wig. Parted
lips show teeth.
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.
Saint
Lawrence
According to a plaque on the wall nearby, the statue was
donated to the church on August 10 by El Club Base Ball
"Union Zimateca."
Local Name: San Lorenzo
Mártir
Site: Church of San Lorenzo
Zimatlán.
Location: Center of the retablo of
the main altar.
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: We
found none.
Unidentified female saint
Basis for Identification: Holds a martyr's palm in the
right hand, a shell in the left. A large conch shell is
placed at the feet.
Site: Church of San Lorenzo
Zimatlán.
Location: In a glass case.
Media and construction: Painted and
gilded but not polychrome.
Note: On this
site, references to the cardinal directions in a church
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. |
