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Artworks
Nativity
Viceroyalty of New Granada, Quito
(present-day Ecuador)
Second half of the 18th century
Carved and polychromed wood and alabaster with applied glass and mother-of-pearl elements
33.5 × 21.5 × 22 cm (Saint Joseph)
33.5 × 21.5 × 22 cm (Virgin)
19 × 6.5 × 4 cm (Child)Further images
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Eighteenth-century Quito Nativity scenes feature the Virgin, Saint Joseph, and Christ Child in codified poses, with Mary in a blue mantle and Joseph holding a lily. Distinctive elements include refined polychromy, silver leaf (corladura), gilded relief motifs, and inset glass or mother-of-pearl details. Christ Child figures were sometimes carved in alabaster or tagua (“vegetable ivory”). These ensembles often included miniature objects—porcelain, toys, jewels—creating a microcosm that reflected Quito’s artistic skill and global influences. -
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