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Lot Essay
This work is a remarkable example of the colonial Mexican tradition of “enconchado” painting. The enconchado technique was a Mexican innovation that derived its name from the Spanish word for shell (concha) whereby small fragments of shell and mother-of-pearl were inlaid onto the surface of paintings. The shell’s shimmering effect was activated when viewed by candlelight, and the luminous nature of the raw material added a level of preciousness to the work of art. The subject of many colonial enconchados included religious subjects, among them private devotional images for use in a domestic setting, and narratives of the lives of Christ and the Virgin, as well as grand historical subjects such as the Conquest of Mexico (examples of which can be seen in the Museo de América, Madrid; the Hispanic Society of America, New York; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Colonial Mexican artists who mastered this technique included the brothers Miguel and Juan González who inspired many followers.
Trade with Asia via the Manila Galleons transformed Mexico City into a commercial center and Asian imports were in abundance. Asian goods such as porcelain, objects inlaid with mother-of-pearl and folding screens inspired artists who incorporated new techniques into their work. The Mexican enconchado was inspired by Asian traditions especially those from Japan, Korea and the Indian region of Gujarat.
This work depicts the Mater Dolorosa, or Virgin of Sorrows–a popular subject of Catholic Marian devotion–alone at the base of the cross with the instruments of the Passion of Christ scattered before her. Tiny fragments of blue shell on her mantle, and red shell on her dress creatively recall the traditional iconography of the Virgin. Flemish artists such as Hieronymous Wierix (1553–1619) made prints of the Virgin with these instruments that circulated widely throughout colonial Mexico. Wierix also depicted a composition similar to this enconchado of the solitary image of the Virgin at the base of the cross set against a cityscape. Prints like this inspired the Mexican painter Juan Correa (1646–1716) who painted multiple versions of the Dolorosa in contemplation of the instruments of the Passion for private devotion.
What completes this extraordinary work is the original and sumptuous enconchado frame–inspired by Japanese namban art– that combines images of birds, grapes and flowers. All of this attention to detail on the frame as a uniting force for the entire work of art highlights the objects’ luxurious and spiritual importance in both the material and spiritual worlds and also serves as reminder of the fusion of Asian and Mexican traditions during the colonial period.
Sofia Sanabrias, independent scholar
Trade with Asia via the Manila Galleons transformed Mexico City into a commercial center and Asian imports were in abundance. Asian goods such as porcelain, objects inlaid with mother-of-pearl and folding screens inspired artists who incorporated new techniques into their work. The Mexican enconchado was inspired by Asian traditions especially those from Japan, Korea and the Indian region of Gujarat.
This work depicts the Mater Dolorosa, or Virgin of Sorrows–a popular subject of Catholic Marian devotion–alone at the base of the cross with the instruments of the Passion of Christ scattered before her. Tiny fragments of blue shell on her mantle, and red shell on her dress creatively recall the traditional iconography of the Virgin. Flemish artists such as Hieronymous Wierix (1553–1619) made prints of the Virgin with these instruments that circulated widely throughout colonial Mexico. Wierix also depicted a composition similar to this enconchado of the solitary image of the Virgin at the base of the cross set against a cityscape. Prints like this inspired the Mexican painter Juan Correa (1646–1716) who painted multiple versions of the Dolorosa in contemplation of the instruments of the Passion for private devotion.
What completes this extraordinary work is the original and sumptuous enconchado frame–inspired by Japanese namban art– that combines images of birds, grapes and flowers. All of this attention to detail on the frame as a uniting force for the entire work of art highlights the objects’ luxurious and spiritual importance in both the material and spiritual worlds and also serves as reminder of the fusion of Asian and Mexican traditions during the colonial period.
Sofia Sanabrias, independent scholar