“Flight to Egypt”
Isabelo Tampinco [1850 – 1933]
Two carved figures in wood and painted on a single wooden base.
Mary, Jesus and donkey:- 43cm high x 38cm wide x 15cm deep.
Joseph:- 50cm high x 19cm wide x 23cm
deep.
Base:- 45cm wide x 31cm deep x 3cm
high.
Signature:-
The sculptures are signed on the base “ILT” on the back left
side.
Matthew 2:13. Now when they had gone, behold an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “ Get up! Take the Child
and His mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you,
for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
:14. So Joseph got up and took the Child and His
mother while it was still night and left for Egypt….
Description:-
The sculpture of Mary and Jesus on the donkey is very beautiful. Mary
is holding the Christ Child in both hands as He sit on her lap
looking out to his right. Jesus is clothed in a white v necked
tunic.
Mary is clothed in a red dress with a blue clock and her head is
covered with a white shawl.
The donkey is very well defined, a strong head and painted an olive
green.
Joseph is dressed in a long grey tunic that is long sleeved with a
round neck and collar and he is wearing green robe over the top of
the tunic.
His head is covered by a white cloth and held in place with a red
band.
Joseph has a branch over his left shoulder held with his left hand
and it has a tied bag on the end of it.
The right foot of Mary can be seen under the folds of her dress and
she has on sandals.
The feet of Jesus are covered.
The covered feet of Joseph can be clearly seen under his tunic.
Both sculptures are finely carved with great attention to detail.
All three faces are nicely carved.
The carved drapery on the figures is very expressive and well done.
This is the work of a mature confident wood carver.
This sculpture would be dated at the end of the 19th
century, though no date is on the sculpture.
Comments:-
Considering the age of these two sculptures there is no significant
damage, all hands fingers and faces are intact.
The left hand of Jesus has been repaired at some stage but in no way
detracts from the magnificence of this piece.
The paint work is in reasonable, good condition.
The base has a few marks on it and one small hole is visible but
considering the age of the piece it is in excellent condition.
This is a wonderful sculpture by Tampinco at the height of his
craftsmanship, a great example of his genius.
Signature:-
The signature< “ILT” can be found of the left side of the base
at the back
.
Written by:-
Mark Shellshear.
Art Consultant.
markshellshear@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment