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ornate silver frame with a picture of the virgin of guadalupean image of a painting of the virgin mary of guadalupean image of a painting of the virgin mary with a crown on her headan image of a painting of the virgin of guadalupe on a walla silver plate with a design on it on a white surfacea mirror that is sitting on the walla piece of wood with a square in the middle
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31 - Novo hispanic School. Mexico. 18th Century.

Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
Sale commission
Description
Novo hispanic School. Mexico. 18th Century. “Our Lady of Guadalupe” Oil on copper with contemporary repoussé and chased silver frame. Copper panel: 26 x 19 cm. Silver Frame: 70 x 49 cm. Magnificent New Spanish devotional work comprising an oil-on-copper representation of Our Lady of Guadalupe housed within an extraordinary contemporary repoussé and chased silver frame, forming a highly decorative ensemble of remarkable artistic and ornamental quality. The central image follows the traditional Guadalupan iconography: the Virgin stands upon the crescent moon, supported by the angel and surrounded by the radiant mandorla of golden rays, faithfully following the model derived from the celebrated tilma preserved at the sanctuary of Tepeyac. Delicate in execution and popular in character, the painting reflects the immense diffusion of Guadalupan imagery throughout New Spain during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when it became one of the principal religious and cultural symbols of the viceroyalty. The most remarkable aspect of the ensemble, however, lies in its spectacular silver frame, a true masterpiece of New Spanish Baroque silverwork. Considerably larger than the painting it encloses, the frame transforms the small devotional image into an object of impressive visual presence, conceived almost as a portable silver retable intended for private devotion. The decoration unfolds through an exuberant composition of scrolling foliage, fleshy leaves and naturalistic motifs executed with considerable technical skill. Particularly noteworthy are the numerous pomegranates distributed throughout the border, a motif rich in symbolic meaning within Hispanic and Christian art, traditionally associated with abundance, fertility and the unity of the Church. This decorative element was especially favoured in Mexican Baroque ornament and appears frequently in eighteenth-century New Spanish silverwork. The upper section is crowned by a monumental scallop shell, a decorative feature characteristic of Ibero-American Baroque art, beneath which two winged putti support a central cartouche framed by an intricate network of scrolling foliage and ornamental volutes. At the lower section, another winged cherub presides over the composition, providing visual balance while reinforcing its celestial character. The depth of the repoussé work, the richness of the chased details and the highly sculptural quality of the ornamentation reveal the hand of a silversmith of considerable talent. Far more than a simple frame, it constitutes an autonomous work of religious silverwork designed to enhance the devotional and symbolic significance of the Guadalupan image. Such ensembles embody one of the most distinctive characteristics of Mexican viceregal art: the union of painting and luxury craftsmanship, whereby relatively modest devotional images were enriched through sumptuous silver mountings, transforming them into prestigious objects of devotion and social display. In the present example, the quality and monumentality of the frame achieve an artistic importance comparable to—and perhaps even greater than—that of the painting itself. By virtue of its exceptional silverwork, the richness of its ornamental repertoire and the excellent preservation of the ensemble, this work stands as a notable testimony to the refinement attained by New Spanish silversmiths during the eighteenth century and to the extraordinary devotion inspired by the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe throughout colonial Mexico.
About the sale Dialogues with the Past: Vestigia
Auction location
Auction time 07/02/2026 at 7:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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