This alabaster panel, representing Santa Rosa de Lima among a group, was made in ca. 1675-1700 probably in Peru. It is carved from Huamanga alabaster, quarried from Huamanga, Peru. It could have formed part of a series of reliefs with scenes from the life of Sta Rosa of Lima, the patron saint of Peru.
Santa Rosa of Lima (1586-1617) was the first Saint of America and was named patron of Peru, all of America, the Indies and the Philippines. She joined the Third Order of St Dominic, and inflicted extreme forms of penance on herself, living as a recluse in a garden hermitage.
Physical description
Panel with a group representing St Rose of Lima, wearing a scapular. She kneels before Christ and the Virgin, behind whom stands St. Joseph. St. Joseph holds a flowering branch, the Virgin a garland of roses, and Christ a cross (now broken). Behind the figure of St. Rose is a simple study, with shelves holding tablets, books and a pen and inkwell. Above in clouds on the left are angels, one playing a lute; on the right are God the Father, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. Remains of green and red polychromy of roses and the flowering branch.
Place of Origin
Peru (probably, made)
Date
ca. 1675-1700 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown
Materials and Techniques
Alabaster carved in relief
Dimensions
Height: 21.5 cm, Depth: 4 cm Maximum depth, Width: 15.5 cm Across the lower edge of the panel
Object history note
Given by Rev. Arthur Cazenove in 1863.
Historical context note
Santa Rosa of Lima was the first Saint of America and was named patron of Peru, all of America, Indies and the Philippines. She joined the Third Order of St Dominic, and inflicted extreme forms of penance on herself, living as a recluse in a garden hermitage.
Descriptive line
Panel relief, alabaster, Santa Rosa of Lima kneeling before Christ, Virgin, St Joseph, probably made in Peru (Huamanga), ca. 1675-1700
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1863. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 45
Trusted, Marjorie. Spanish Sculpture. Catalogue of the Post-Medieval Spanish Sculpture in Wood, Terracotta, Alabaster, Marble, Stone, Lead and Jet in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1996, pp. 127-128, cat. no. 59
Majluf, N. and Wuffarden, L. E., La Piedra de Huamanga: lo Sagardo y lo profane, exh. cat., Museo de Arte, Lima, 1998, p. 42 and pp. 52-6.
Riaño, Juan F. Classified and descriptive catalogue of the art objects of Spanish production in the South Kensington Museum. "(First edition)" London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1872, p. 2
Gutiérrez, R., ed. Pintura, Escultura y Artes Útiles en Iberoamerica, 1500-1825, Madrid, 1995, fig. 325 on p. 335
Production Note
It might also be in fact Peruvian made from Huamnaga (a type of alabaster).
Materials
Alabaster
Techniques
Carving; Relief
Subjects depicted
Inkwell; Angels; Shelves; Books; Cross; Lute; Roses; Pen; Dove; Tablets; Clouds
Categories
Christianity; Religion; Reliefs; Sculpture
Collection
Sculpture Collection
