Sunday, May 09, 2010

Turris Eburnea (In Honor of the Month of Mary)

Tota pulchra es, Maria,
et macula originalis non est in te.
Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix, et facies tua sicut sol.
Tota pulchra es, Maria,
et macula originalis non est in te.
Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.
Tota pulchra es, Maria.
Ivory image of the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, probably from Macau or the Philippines. The features of the image are notably Chinese, and it is well known that the Chinese settlers in the Philippines excelled in the craft of ivory sculpting. However, Macau was also well known for that fact, and was a major source of ivory for sculptors in the Philippines. It also deviates from the standard depictions of the Madonna in the Philippines (notably the hair and the resplendor). This image is found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where it is attributed to Philippine workshops and labeled under 'Spanish Colonial'.

1 comment:

bgeorge77 said...

WOW... that statue is exquisite!