Objets d'art et de décoration anciens

PAIRE D'APPLIQUES en bronze à 3 lumières et chute de perles. Style Louis XV. 29 x 30 x 22 cm

PIED DE LAMPE en opaline blanche à pans coupés sur un piétement rond évasé. Monture en laiton. XIXe siècle. (Manque la douille) Haut. : 56 cm.

PETIT PARAVENT à quatre feuilles à décor de toiles peintes imitation tapisserie d'une scène de chasse à courre au cerf. Dans le goût du XVIIe siècle. Haut. : 131 cm - Larg. totale : 140 cm

Andrés López (Mexico, active from 1763 to 1811) 'Pietà' Oil on copper. Signed and dated 'Andreas Lopez fecit Mexici 1786.' With an ebonised wooden frame with silver applications. 56 x 42 cm. As we read in the biographical profile from the Andrés Blaisten Museum: 'Son of the painter Carlos Clemente López, the painter was associated with the academy of the brothers Nicolás and Juan Rodríguez Juárez. An artist who was rather prolific and who enjoyed, along with his brother Cristóbal, a certain well-deserved prestige. His works range in date from 1763 to 1812, as that is the year of the painting depicting Saint Ignatius wounded before Pamplona. His most famous work is the large Via Crucis, originally consisting of 14 paintings dated in Mexico from 1798 to 1800. It is thought that some of his works might portray views of the city of Aguascalientes, such as 'Scenes from the Life of Saint John Nepomucene', dated 1797, and an 'Our Lady of Carmen', signed in 1799, which can be found in the city of Sombrerete in Zacatecas. There is also an 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' from 1798 in Aguascalientes and a 'Calvary' in Guadalajara. Although his works remained in the provinces, many of them were executed in Mexico. In the Treasury of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, there are the following paintings by Andrés López: the 'Heart of Jesus', the 'Conception' of 1796, and a print of 'Saint Joseph' from 1797, which is considered the best artwork produced by this prolific artist.'

Seat of Wisdom (Sedes Sapientiae). Carved and polychromed wooden sculpture. Nordic Europe. Sweden / Norway. Romanesque. 12th century. 68 x 30 x 17 cm. Its original polychrome is preserved. From the 11th century, in a movement that culminated in the Gregorian Reform (1073), the image of the Virgin in Majesty and its symbolism developed, the Sedes Sapientiae, or seat of wisdom, becoming the Marian representation par excellence. Thus, Mary is the instrument for incarnating the Lord, and His main support. In our opinion, this magnificent sculpture is included within the group of Romanesque Madonnas in Majesty, made in the North of Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries in the territories of the former Viking Kingdoms such as Gotland, or in what is now Sweden. , Norway and Denmark. All of them have their own characteristics that allow them to be grouped, which are, in addition to the same style, carving technique and polychroming, the following: The throne model on which Mary rests, a specific type of chair with a very high back and turned arms, Mary's clothing is reminiscent of the clothing worn by the ancient inhabitants of these towns, such as the Viking cape Mary wears and in the typical married women's hairstyle with long braids. In addition the sculpture has somewhat elongated faces, and the characteristic folds in the clothing, of Byzantine influence. These Marian representations, found in the North of Europe, are some of the oldest known examples of this type of statue. Few remain in private hands, most of them are in museums, and few examples have survived due to the iconoclasm brought about by the advent of Protestantism in that area. Other examples of these Nordic Majesties are, for example, the Virgin of Mosjo, dressed as an ancient goddess, dating from the 12th century, The Virgin of Viklau from Gotland, in present-day Sweden, and which is considered one of the best preserved in Europe, the Virgin of Okänd ort, the Virgin of Nävelsjö and the Virgin of Mo, all of them are part of the collection at the Stockholm History Museum, as well as the Virgin of Urnes dated in 1175, and kept in the University Museum of Bergen , the Virgin of Dyste and the Virgin of Forssa of Södermanland.   Reference bibliography: - Mercier, Emmanuelle. (2018). “New research findings on 11th-early 13th-century polychrome wood sculpture at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Brussels”. Medievalista, nº 26. https://doi.org/10.4000/medievalista.2313 - Kollandsrud, Kaja, y Plahter, Unn. (2019). “Twelfth and early thirteenth century polychromy at the northernmost edge of Europe: Past analyses and future research”. Medievalista, nº 26. https://doi.org/10.4000/medievalista.2303 - Kollandsrud, Kaja. (2016). Accessing the past in the present: A search for meaning in polychrome medieval art. En C. Hanner Norstrand; T. Warscheid y A. Henningsson (Eds.), “Medieval Murals in the Church Attics of Östergötland: Technical Art History, Reception History, Value” (pp. 34-46). ICOMOS Sweden. - Plahter, Unn. (2014). “Norwegian art technology in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries: materials and techniques in European context”. Zeischrift für Kunstechnologie und Konservierung, hefte 2. (pp. 298-332).

Escuela flamenca. Gótico. Siglo XV. Escultura en madera tallada, dorada y policromada representando un busto de obispo portado por ángeles. 57,5 x 44,5 x 25

Carved wood table. Colonial. Possibly Cuba. Seventeenth century. 79 x 124 x 76 cm.

Embossed leather and wrought iron casket with a wooden core. Netherlands. Gothic. 15th century.   Completely covered in embossed leather with engraved and ornamented metalwork decoration. 30,5 x 44 x 22 cm.

Master of Ibdes. First third of the 16th century. 'Madonna and Child with Donor.' Tempera painting on pine wood. Measurements: 111 x 60 cm. The work depicts the Virgin and Child accompanied by a male donor, who has a tonsure and can be identified as a religious figure due to his attire. Undoubtedly, he is the patron of the altarpiece to which this altarpiece compartment belonged, which, logically, would have been accompanied by others that we do not know of. The characters are positioned in front of an architectural parapet, above which we see a landscape with plant elements and a building.   This work is an interesting contribution to the history of painting in the regions of Valencia and Aragon in the early 16th century. It must be attributed to the same painter who created the Madonna and Child, which is still kept in the church of San Miguel de Ibdes (Zaragoza). The latter was originally attributed by Post to the Master of Gotor, although a later study by Dr. Carmen Morte confirmed that it was the work of an anonymous master, most likely of Valencian origin, due to its similarities with the Leonardo da Vinci style of Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina and Fernando Llanos.   Indeed, both this painting and the one from Ibdes exhibit a style clearly influenced by the Hernandos, who imported Leonardo's forms and sfumato to the Valencia region. In this panel, we can see that the face of Mary strongly resembles that of numerous female figures found in works by Yáñez, such as the famous Saint Catherine in the Prado Museum, or paintings by other masters from the same Leonardo-inspired artistic circle, such as Miquel Esteve. All of this suggests that the painter of this panel and the one from Ibdes may have been a master trained in Valencia in the milieu of Yáñez and Llanos, perhaps even in their workshop, who later moved to Aragon to continue his work, although we do not know if he did so temporarily or permanently. In any case, having two works by him allows us to establish a new artistic personality, which we can refer to as the 'Master of Ibdes.'   We would like to thank Dr. Alberto Velasco Gonzàlez for the attribution and cataloguing of this lot.   Provenance: Switzerland, private collection.

Francesco Tironi (Venice, circa 1745-1797). 'View of the Grand Canal of Venice' Oil on canvas. 50.5 x 74 cm. Private Collection: Spain. The pair of thi painting was recently auctioned at Christie's for the sum of 25,000 pounds on July 9, 2021. Francesco Tironi was a painter active in Venice in the second half of the 18th century, and very little is known about his life. There are only comments on his drawings depicting the ports and islands of Venice, written by Giannantonio Moschini (1806). In his work 'Della letteratura veneziana del secolo XVIII fino a' nostri giorni' (Venice 1806), Moschini wrote: 'Here I will add that we must pity our Francesco Tironi, who died a few years ago at too young an age because the Ports di Venezia e le Isole drawn by him, and engraved by our Antonio Santi, show us how far he would have gone.' As we can see, this source only mentions Tironi as a draftsman and ignores his painting activity, which is first mentioned by F. De Boni in his 'Biografia degli artisti' (Venice 1840), where the master is described as a 'Venetian perspective painter' born 'in the second half of the 18th century' and deceased 'at a young age around 1800.' In the following decades, no documents about Tironi were discovered. It wasn't until 1969 when Marina Stefani Mantovanelli made public the death certificate dated February 28, 1797, the same year Venice fell, in an article published in 1969. This remarkable coincidence leads us to consider the artist as the last representative of the glorious history of vedutisti during the Serenissima Republic. From the obituary, it is revealed that Tironi was a priest, born into a Friulian family (his father was 'from Brazza') living in Corte Colonna, Venice, and that he was 'about 52 years old.' From this, it can be deduced that he must have been born in 1745.

Attributed to Luis González. 17th - 18th centuries. 'The Immaculate Conception in the Light of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by Saint Francis Xavier and Saint John the Baptist, surrounded by a choir of angels.' Magnificent relief in sculpted, polychromed, and gilded Huamanga stone. Saint John of Huamanga (Ayacucho), Viceroyalty of Peru. 24 x 18 cm.   This magnificent relief bears similarities to works created in Huamanga stone by Luis González, as evidenced by the facial features of the characters and the polychrome. It's worth pointing out that the relief has retained all of its original polychrome. The sculptural treatment is the work of a great master, as demonstrated by the multitude of small and intricate folds that form Mary's mantle and the various physiognomies and expressions of the characters.   Huamanga stone is a type of white alabaster with delicate transparencies, and sculptures made from it are named after their place of origin, Huamanga, which is in the Ayacucho region currently. This region gave rise to interesting production of sculptures and reliefs, typically dedicated to the Virgin, Christ, and the Saints. A true sculptural school emerged between the 16th and 17th centuries, influenced by artists from Navarre and Aragon, who were involved in the creation of altarpieces and church altars. A composition very similar to this one, with the Immaculate Conception on an identical crescent moon, surrounded by the symbolism of the litanies, and with the same floral garlands, is kept in the Colonial Art Museum of Bogota. Similar examples can also be found in the Pedro de Osma Museum in Lima.   With exquisite craftsmanship, beautiful polychroming, and masterful carving, we contemplate the Virgin as 'electa ut sol, clara ut luna,' the contemplative and devotional vision of the two Saints. Saint Francis Xavier, who continuously repeated this prayer asking for chastity: 'Oh Lady, I commend myself to you and to all the saints now and at the hour of my death, that you may guard me from the devil, from the world, and from the flesh, which are my enemies...' (Document 15, No. 27. Goa, May 1542).  He carries the lily of virginity, an iconographic symbol by which he was recognised before his canonisation in 1622. Since then, he has been depicted with the apostle's cross, and the lily became the attribute of another younger Jesuit, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Interestingly, Saint John the Baptist appears with a lion emerging from the moon under Mary's feet, a symbol often used to represent Saint Mark. But it makes sense, as he is the first evangelist who speaks of the Precursor and places him at the beginning of his Gospel, 'when John the Baptist speaks of a roar in the desert that some relate to the roar of a mighty lion.' The artist, it seems, had biblical knowledge in addition to powerful skills in carving and painting. Reference bibliography. : MAJLUF, Natalia y WUFFARDEN, Luis Eduardo: “La piedra de Huamanga: lo sagrado y lo profano” Lima: 1998.

Colonial school possibly Mexico. Dated 1838. 'Family portrait'. Oil on canvas. Remains of signature. Measurements without frame: 98 x 129 Measurements with frame: 119 x 150

Colonial school. Mexico. 18th century. 'Life and Miracles of Father Saint Francis Caracciolo' Oil on copper. 30 x 21.5 cm. Distributed over fifteen cartouches, including the central one, the painting describes the life, miracles, preaching, and priestly life of Father Francis Caracciolo. In the midst of the 16th century, after a difficult childhood plagued by illnesses, including a skin disease, he vowed to offer his life to God were he cured. A miracle indeed cured him. He prepared for the priesthood in Naples, and shortly after his ordination as a priest, he joined a group dedicated to ministering to prisoners in jails. In 1588, John Augustine Adorno decided to establish a religious community that would devote half of its time to prayer and the other half to proselytism, and he did so with Father Francis. The new community was named the 'Clerics Regular Minor.' In the central window of the painting, we see him during his daily prayer hour, nourishing his spirit. He drove away the demons that pursued him with constant fasting, blessed many of his followers who, upon meeting him, abandoned their wealth and joined as equals, he visited jails and hospitals, and 'blessed with the certainty that his mere gesture of raising his hand filled them with God and healed them.' He had the gift of healing. Many times, with the sign of the cross, he restored health to the sick. He also founded communities in Madrid, Valladolid, and Alcalá in Spain. In 1607, he resigned from all his positions and devoted himself to prayer and meditation. In his room in Naples, he was found several times on the floor, with his arms outstretched in a cross, in ecstasy, praying and gazing at the crucifix in rapture. A clear example of a devotional-catechetical painting that invited people to follow his life, and that may well have belonged to a member of his order.

Escuela hispano-filipina. Siglo XVII. 'Virgen con Niño' Escultura en marfil. 38 x 15 x 9,5 cm. Se adjunta el certificado CITES de fecha 11-05-2012.

Escuela alemana. Finales del siglo XV. 'La Virgen y San José buscando posada en Belén', 'El Nacimiento de Jesús siendo adorado por la familia de donantes' y 'La huida de Egipto' Tempera y fondo de oro sobre tabla. Conjunto de tres pinturas posiblemente en origen formando un tríptico o siendo tres tablas de una calle completa de un retablo. Medidas tablas: 73,5 x 51,5 cm, 73,5 x 45 cm y 73,5 x 45 cm.

Seville or Mexican Workshop. Circle of Juan de Mesa (Cordoba, baptised in 1583 - Seville, 1627). 'Christ Child' Polychromed lead sculpture. 65 x 29.5 x 26 cm. A magnificent sculpture of great quality, portraying the Child Jesus with graceful movement, resting one leg on a cushion that is part of the plinth, which gives the figure elegance. It is supported by its original, three-tiered base, which is carved in wood, gilded, polychromed, and decorated with gadrooning. Made from a mould by Juan de Mesa. Juan de Mesa was a sculptor whose fame has historically been overshadowed by that of his master, Juan Martínez Montañés. Until his rediscovery in the late 19th century by the Seville-based historian José Bermejo y Carballo, who attributed a work of art to him, the name Mesa had not been mentioned for more than two and a half centuries, and his works were mistakenly attributed to his master Montañés. Furthermore, in the 20th century, documents came to light that helped shed light on Mesa's life and work. Even so, information about Mesa's childhood and youth is scarce, but it is known that he was baptised in Cordoba in 1583 and did not join the workshop of his eventual master until 1606, formalising his apprenticeship contract in 1607. Professor Alberto Villar Movellán has attempted to explain the influences on Mesa's work, characterised by its dramatic intensity as well as the classicism inherited from Montañés.

Colonial School. Cuzco. Peru. 18th century. 'Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem' Oil on canvas. With its original carved and gilded wooden frame. 78.5 x 68.5 cm. Frame measurements: 107 x 98 cm.

Italian school. 16th - 17th century. 'Portrait of Cardinal Pedro da Fonseca' Oil on canvas. Relined. Signed. 153 x 97 cm. 137 x 100 cm. Pedro da Fonseca (Cortiçada, now Proença-a-Nova, 1528 - Lisbon, 1599) was a highly influential Portuguese Jesuit in the late 16th-century Aristotelian scholastic tradition, playing a significant role in the development of philosophy in the early Modern Age. He was instrumental in creating a curriculum for Jesuit education across Europe through his contribution to the 'Ratio Studiorum' (1599), the document that formally established the Jesuit education system worldwide. He began the compilation of commentaries on Aristotle, known as the 'Conimbricenses,' a collection of texts used in many universities and educational institutions in the 17th century. He wrote an introduction to logic, recommended by the Ratio Studiorum, and a commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics, used by numerous Jesuit colleges. He is considered the founder of the 'middle divine science' or third science, which sits between the science of simple intelligence (or divine science) and the science of sight. He was a philosophy professor at the University of Coimbra, where he taught Greek and Arabic. He received important commissions from figures such as Pope Gregory XIII and King Philip II, who had confidence in him. He also held positions of responsibility within the Society of Jesus. At the bottom margin of the work, you can read the inscription: 'PETRVS DE FONSECA EBOR. LVSIT. CARTA DE MARTINO V DIACONVS. S. ANGEL(...) [L]EGATA LATERE IN HISPANIAS NEAPOLI(...) ET CONSTANTINOP. IN VATICANO SEPT(...) / MCDXII'; as well as the Fonseca family coat of arms (derived from 'fonte seca,' dry well).

'Madonna and Child in Majesty'. Polychromed wood. Aragonese or Catalan workshop?. Gothic. 14th century. 64 x 19 x 22 cm. The cult of the Virgin Mary would not reach a preeminent place in Christian art until the twelfth century, becoming one of the favorite iconographies in religious imagery throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.  This beautiful Maiestas Mariae or Madonna and Child in Majesty, heiress of the Byzantine Theotokos, is an exceptional example of the level achieved by local workshops, quasi-artisans who worked at the beginning of the Gothic period in Aragon, or perhaps in Catalonia, in which, despite being quite modest in scope, the sculptures are outstanding in their somewhat naïve charm.    The theme of the Virgin Mary as the throne of Christ enjoyed great popularity, which led to the development of numerous typologies and variants. In this case, Mary is represented with an elongated canon, perceptible especially in the body and hands. There is also a slight anatomical disproportion in the legs, which are too short for such a model. She is sitting on a bench without a back. She has an oval face with barely carved facial features, which are perceptible mostly through the polychrome applied to the curved eyebrows, large almond-shaped eyes and closed mouth. The latter has thick red lips. At the sides are polychromed rosy cheeks. There is a prominent thick nose, powerful chin, and cylindrical neck, almost the same thickness as the head. She wears a simple golden headdress that covers both the hair and the ears, falling on both sides of the face. Clothed in a reddish tunic, her neck is traversed by a golden border, in which there are golden dots which even have schematic geometric motifs on them. Above it is a bluish mantle that falls down her back and is gathered at her knees, so that the Child can rest on it. The feet are encased in sharp-tipped shoes.  The Madonna’s right hand is missing, in which she may have carried some attribute or fruit – perhaps it was the often used apple that symbolizes her victory over sin and her conversion into the new Eve –while with her left hand she holds her Son, whom she has place on her left knee – this typology is one of the most popular. According to Georg Weise it has its origin in Our Lady of the Slave from the Vitoria Cathedral, dated to the late thirteenth century. The Christ Child, as usual in this period, is not a child, but an adult on a smaller scale. The face and hairstyle are a repetition of those of the Mother, although in this case the headdress is replaced by blond hair. He wears a tunic that completely covers his body. It is white, with the neck traversed by a golden border, and is completely covered by stylized floral decorations. Like the Mother, the left hand, in which he would have held the orb of the world, is missing.  Although during the Gothic period an affectionate communication between Mother and Son was developed, in this example there is a noticeable lack of communication in addition to a slight stiffness to both figures only broken by the slight turning of Mary's face to the right and the Son to the left. Although it is difficult to establish a chronology and a specific affiliation for this type of carving, especially for these cases in which its great antiquity is joined to the fact that it is the product of a small, local artisan  workshop, the sculpture could date to the fourteenth century and is perhaps from some Aragonese or Catalan workshop.  We would like to thank Dr. Javier Baladrón, PhD in History of Art, for the identification and cataloguing of this lot.

'Seat of Wisdom (Sedes Sapientiae)'. Carved and polychromed wooden sculpture. Romanesque. 13th century. 66 x 21 x 15 cm. It presents slight restorations. The Latin term Sedes Sapientiae means Seat of Wisdom or Throne of Wisdom. It is one of the most widespread images of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, in visual art. This designation was used for the first time in the 11th and 12th centuries by Peter Damiani and Guibert de Nogent, to compare the Virgin Mary with the throne of Soloman. Mary becomes the seat for the embodiment of the Christ Child. 'Seat of Wisdom' is one of the descriptions of the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto. The origin of these images is byzantine, and they became popular in the Occidental church from the 11th century. The Cistercian Order was constituted from the 12th century and was a great promoter of the worship of Mary. The 'Sedes Sapientiae' were produced in the Early Middle Ages and can be situated geographically from Auvergne to Catalonia, and from Italy to Scandinavia.   The sculptor had the skill to imbue the image with spirituality, conveying its idealised and celestial nature. Mary, in a frontal position, seated on her throne of wisdom and, crowned as Queen of Heaven, wears a tunic. Beneath the crown, a delicate veil falls, framing her face but leaving it clear, coming to rest on her shoulders.   Her face is beautiful, oval in shape, with elongated eyebrows over slanting eyes, a long slender nose, and thin lips. Stylistically, in our opinion, this 'Sedes' falls within the Romanesque style from the northern Catalonia or southern France regions, an example of which being the 12th century Virgin of Santa Maria of Matamala, kept in the Episcopal Museum of Vic (inv.1404).

Colonial school. Cuzco. Peru. XVIII century. 'San Juan Bautista'. Oil on canvas. Relined 101 x 83 cm.

Pair of 'Campeche' chairs. Made of cedar wood and leather. Mexico. Late 18th century. 99 x 70 x 60 cm each. Curule seat style chairs derive from folding, X-shaped, ancient Egyptian furniture. They are characterised by a non-folding curule base that supports a backrest and a seat made of embossed leather or slung cane. It is believed that the Campeche chair has Spanish origins and is named after the port city of 'Campeche' on the Yucatán Peninsula. They are often found in Louisiana, in prominent plantation estates decorated with 19th-century furniture.  Examples of similar chairs to these can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inventory number 2000.451; https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16854) or in the Denver Art Museum (inventory number 2021.99; https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2021.99).  

Attributed to Pedro Laboria (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, circa 1700 - Bogotá, Colombia, circa 1770) 'Saint Joseph' Carved and polychrome wooden sculpture. It shows small flaws. Height: 80 cm. Pedro Laboria probably trained in a workshop in Seville, and arrived in South America in 1738, settling in Santa Fe de Bogotá, where he contributed to increasing the influence of Andalusian sculpture in the Viceroyalty of New Granada, becoming one of the principal sculptors of the Colonial period. The sculptor had a strong relationship with the Jesuits. Through the Jesuits of Sanlúcar, he entered into the service of the Jesuits of Bogota. Thanks to the artworks that he made for the Society of Jesus, which at the time renovated the Temple of Saint Ignatius, Laboria became one of the greatest exponents of the sculpture of New Granada. One of his greatest works, for the same temple, is the ecstasy of Saint Ignatius, dated 1749. The depiction of Jesuit saints was a constant in his artistic life. He carved a Saint Francis Borgia, a moribund saint Francis Xavier and two sculptures of Saint Ignatius of Loyola for the Temple of Saint Ignatius. Paintings of the different moments of Sant Francis’ life as Duke of Borgia are kept at the Borgias’ Ducal Palace in Gandia, where he is depicted as a nobleman, in a very similar style to this sculpture.  

Imposing ebonised wood table with wrought iron bolds and silvered stucco top simulating embossed silver.   Colonial workshop. 18th century.

Colonial School. Late 16th century - Early 17th century Bernardo Bitti Circle (Camerino, Italy, 1548 - Lima, 1610) 'Mercedarian Carmelites' Oil on canvas. Relined. 65 x 52 cm. Beautiful, devotional canvas of two Conceptionist nuns (on the left, possibly their founder, Saint Beatriz de Silva) with a distinctive feature of their habit, the 'nun's shields,' praying before their Queen, the Immaculate Virgin Mary. There is a written sign: 'Condédeme alabarte, Virgen Santísima' (Grant me to praise you, Most Holy Virgin.) from the 18th century.

Colonial School. Possibly Mexico. 17th - 18th century. 'Saint John of Nepomuk' Oil on copper. 65 x 51 cm. According to historians, he was the confessor of Sophie of Bavaria, the queen consort of Bohemia, and he refused to break the sacramental seal of confession, which angered King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, who ordered his tongue to be cut for keeping the confession secret.

Colonial School. Peru. 17th-18th century. 'Saint Didacus of Alcalá' Oil on canvas. Relined. 100 x 73 cm. Our work shows us Jesus, who, with the cross on his shoulders, promises that the thorns of his Passion will be transformed, mystically, into flowers (roses) in his life. Didacus (San Diego) of Alcalá, a lay brother in the Order of Saint Francis, was born in Seville and died in Alcalá de Henares in 1463. He is depicted wearing the appropriate habit: a tunic with a hood, a scapular, and a cord. He is portrayed as young and beardless, although he lived to be sixty years old. His attributes include a set of keys as he served as the porter and cook of the monastery. In some depictions, he holds a crucifix in his right hand, or he gathers his scapular like an apron, which is filled with flowers (similar to the miracles of St. Casilda and St. Elizabeth of Portugal). In this painting, he is seen with his scapular covered in flowers during a miraculous vision. Scenes from his life depict his acts of charity, such as caring for the sick, distributing food to the poor, rescuing a child from an oven, and healing a blind person. His iconography also includes the Christ Child appearing to the saint. Murillo painted a cycle in 1646 for the Franciscans of Seville, and some of these paintings remain scattered in various collections. These paintings include Didacus levitating before the Crucifix in the presence of the Master of the Order; the miracle of the roses mentioned earlier; the 'Kitchen of the Angels' where angels assist him in his work; and the saint on his knees, blessing a cauldron of food surrounded by children and the poor.

Travel altar made with “Enconchado' technique in wood, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl and iron fittings. Colonial. Viceregal work. Peru. 17th century. Altar measurements: 44 x 25 cm. Painting measurements: 24 x 17.5 cm. It has an architectural structure and double door, topped with a tympanum. The interior contains “the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well of Shechem”, a 16th - 17th century Flemish School painting in oil on copper, of exquisite workmanship. This is a delicate scene in which Jesus tells the woman that He could give her the water that would cause her to never thirst again, explaining that He was the Saviour. The water He could give her was the “living water” of eternal life, the water that would quench her thirst for the infinite, her eternal desire for God. It was common at the time, as we have observed in certain chests of drawers and desks, to include small paintings made of copper that came to the Viceroyalty from the Old Continent from Flemish or Italian workshops. The 'enconchado' or shell inlay work on this altar is especially delicate, featuring profuse decoration of mother-of-pearl vases emitting divided palmettes and scrolled flowers on a tortoiseshell background, and alternating latticework of cubes and diamond patterns. There is almost identical decoration on the chest that is part of the Asociación Civil Museo Enrico Poli collection in Lima, and on the chest in the Isaac Fernández Blanco Museum of Spanish-American Art in Buenos Aires. The typology of this piece is very special, since there are not many examples of triptychs or oratories for private use, as it is more common to find chests, caskets, lecterns or larger civil and ecclesiastical furniture. With regard to the origin of this type of furniture, which has the same origin and decoration as this one, it is very interesting to read the article by Professor Gustavo Curiel, published in the Mexican Institute of aesthetic research magazine 'Imágenes', (http://www.esteticas.unam.mx/revista_imagenes/imago/ima_curiel05.html) about the analysis of a magnificent dresser which is kept at the Meadows Museum in Dallas : “With regard to the place where this furniture originated (characterised by rich tortoiseshell inlay, mother of pearl and silver thread) it has been repeated, without any kind of foundation, that this type of furniture was made in Mexico City, in the Philippines, on the Indo-Portuguese coast and in continental Asia. Recently, Jorge Rivas has confirmed, after meticulous study and many comparisons, that this type of furniture was made in the Viceroyalty of Peru. This very singular style of production of alt-luxury furniture continued until the 19th century. On the other hand, the evident Asian influence on the decoration of the dresser should be highlighted. There are Korean flowers and other elements derived from the repertoire of Asiatic ornamentation.” The quoted article by Professor Curiel continues: “In the decoration we can make out shapes that are reminiscent of Korean flowers, that Jorge F. Rivas has related to lacquered Korean pieces of the Joseon Dynasty. These same floral motifs are present on inlaid boxes and are, one can affirm, the “signature” of one particular workshop’s creations, which indicates that there was heavy activity in the workshop which managed to make these distinctive decorative forms which have endured over time.” Jorge Rivas, who Professor Curiel alludes to in his text, is currently the curator at the Frederick and Jan Mayer Center at the Denver Art Museum, and head of the Latin American Art department. As María Campos Carlés indicates, also in “Un legado que pervive en Hispanoamérica. El mobiliario del Virreinato del Perú de los siglos XVII y XVIII” (An enduring legacy of Hispano-America. The furniture of the Viceroyalty of Peru of the 17th and 185h centuries): “Oriental influence on the furniture of the Peruvian and Mexican coasts began in the mid-17th century when Japanese craftspeople arrived in the Americas, whether Christian or not, they were specialised in Namban lacquer. They brought with them knowledge of how to use lacquer combined with mother of pearl and other materials. They trained European artisans in these skills, as well as converted Muslims and indigenous people, all of these with artistic experience and who learned the technique quickly, being then able to plan, design and build luxurious furniture which became known as “enconchados” and which came to replace the Namban style furniture …It is important to highlight the natural inclination that the artisans of Arab origin that lived in the Viceroyalty of Peru had for covering flat surfaces with abstract motifs. They can be discovered in the way that ornaments and lattices became geometrical and repeated, reflecting a Spanish influence seen in Hispanic-Mudejar furniture. The CITES report is included in the lot.

Colonial School. Cuzco. Peru. 18th century. 'Boy with Thorn' Oil on canvas. Accompanied by an embossed silver period frame. Painting measurements: 28 x 19 cm. Frame measurements: 49 x 38 cm.

Attributed to Juan de Arrue (Ávalos, Nueva Galicia, Mexico, 1565 - possibly Puebla, after 1637) 'The Annunciation' Oil on wood panel. 50 x 64 cm. Born in 1565 in the province of Ávalos, which is now Colima, Mexico, Juan de Arrue was the son of the sculptor Juan de Arrúe, from Seville, Spain. He received his training from the painter Andrés de la Concha and worked in Puebla at the end of the 16th century before later moving to Oaxaca. He completed various artworks during his career, including the altar for the church of Etla and the series 'Life of the Virgin' at San Francisco Cuauhtinchán. In 1621, he created the decorations for the tomb of Margarita de Austria in the Santo Domingo convent. His last will and testament is dated in Puebla in 1637, and he is likely to have died shortly after that.

Colonial school. Cuzco. Peru. Century XVIII. 'Our Lady of Pomata' Oil on canvas. In 1534, the Spanish foundation of Pomata was established on the Collao plateau in the Peruvian Altiplano by the Dominican friar Fray Tomás de San Martín, an important political figure and master of the Religious Order of Santo Domingo. The town was founded to encourage worship and conversion, so the first settlers were religious, to which the civilian population was gradually added. Under the rule of Kings and Viceroys, Pomata became an important centre of catechism for the religious congregation of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The chapel of Santa Barbara, the temple of San Santiago, the temples of San Martin and San Miguel were built, thus initiating the evangelisation of the first inhabitants of Puma Uta, later called Pomata by the Spaniards. One of the most popular miraculous sculptures of the viceregal period, which became very popular around 1600, was the sculpture of Our Lady of the Rosary in the church of Santiago de Pomata, which competed in popularity with the Virgin of the Augustinian sanctuary of Copacabana.   Professor Maya Stanfield-Mazzi in her interesting study on the Virgin of the Rosary of Pomata, 'LA VIRGEN DEL ROSARIO DE POMATA, EN SU IGLESIA Y EN EL VIRREINATO', indicates among other things that: 'The original image belongs to the church of Santiago de Pomata, a town on the south-western shore of Lake Titicaca which during colonial times was part of the bishopric of La Paz. Depictions of this sculpture were disseminated throughout the viceroyalty. A large number of the paintings come from the Cuzco school of the 17th and 18th centuries, and many are today in churches and museums in the department of Cuzco, such as the one in the Museo Histórico Regional Casa Garcilaso, an anonymous Cuzco artist, in which the Virgin is accompanied by Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Dominic'. Professor Stanfield-Mazzi continues: 'We do not know with certainty in what year the image of the Virgin of Pomata was created, nor when it arrived at the church of that town; nor do we know the name of the sculptor who created it (anonymous around 1570) In his work published in Rome in 1681, fray Juan Meléndez maintains that the parish of Pomata was returned to the Dominicans because the bishop de la Cerda knew the devotion that the friars had for the Virgin Mary 'in her prodigious image, under the invocation of her Rosary' (Meléndez, 1681-82: I, 446).

Box made of tortoiseshell covered wood. Colonial workshop. Peru. 17th-18th century. 13 x 25 x 10,5 cm.

'Archangel Saint Michael'. Colonial School. Possibly from a Quito Workshop. 17th / 18th century. Wonderful sculpture in carved wood, polychrome and polychromed and silver plated. Magnificent example of the delicate of the delicate imagery of the Quiteño workshops. 57 x 27 x 20 cm.

Escuela Italiana S.XVII. 'Personaje' Oleo sobre tela. Reentelado. 90 x 70 cm.

Attributed to Basilio Santa Cruz Pumacallao (Cuzco, Peru, 1635 - 1710) 'Salome with the head of John the Baptist.' Oil on wood. Reinforced. 72 x 58 cm. In our scene, Salome asks for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. An angel crowns her martyrdom with glory. Basilio de Santa Cruz Pumacallao, along with Diego Quispe Tito, dominated the artistic panorama during the last quarter of the 17th century of the Cuzco school. Its most relevant patron was Bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo (1673-1699), a Spanish cleric who arrived in Cuzco in 1673.As indicated by the Royal Academy of History, Pumacallao was an: “Active painter in Cuzco in the second half of the 17th century.  He was an indigenous painter considered to be among the founders of the Cuzco school. Like Quispe Tito and other painters of his time, Santa Cruz was a member of the Inca aristocracy. His career began around 1661, when the Franciscans of Cuzco commissioned him to paint twelve angels and an equal number of Madonnas for their church, paintings that are now lost.'

Taller sorrentino o catalán. Finales del siglo XVIII. Mesa velador en madera con marquetería de frutal representando en una maravillosa escena central en el sobre, en la que vemos a los Reyes Católicos y Cristóbal Colón. 77 x 99,5 x 99,5 cm.

Colonial School. Mexico or Peru. 18th century. 'Saint Gertrude the Great' Oil on panel. 55 x 42,5 cm. Saint Gertrude the Great, abbess rescuer of souls from Purgatory with an inflamed heart, intercessor for a good death. In our panel, she is depicted, as is customary, with her heart inflamed with love for the Child Jesus. The saint's entire life was a delicious uninterrupted conversation with the Beloved of her soul, with ardent, passionate and daring expressions of love that only occur between lovers. Hence the depiction of Him inside her heart. The saint said: 'I would like my heart to be torn from my chest, to be torn into a thousand pieces and placed in a burning brazier so that your dwelling would be less unworthy of You'.

Escuela italiana del siglo XVII - XVIII. Oleo sobre tela. Reentelado. 65 x 71,5 cm.

Jarra de pico en plata punzonada. México. Siglo XVIII. 23 x 17 x 17 cm.

'Joan de Joanes and Workshop. Circa 1530. 'The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John and an Angel'   Oil painting on pine wood. Measurements: 60 x 49 cm. The panel displays a well-known composition through a remarkable collection of devotional artworks painted in the workshop of Vicent Macip and Joan de Joanes, two of the most interesting figures in Valencian painting during the Renaissance. We see the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the Christ Child, accompanied by Saint Joseph, Saint John the Baptist, and an angel presenting Jesus with a cross, a symbol foretelling the Passion. The work is remarkable for the quality of its drawing, its balanced composition, and a particularly contrasting colour palette.   A recent study by Miquel Àngel Herrero-Cortell and Isidro Puig has highlighted a group of 25 artworks featuring the same composition, with slight variations, which has resulted in the identification of seven different versions. This painting falls within version 5, characterised by the portrayal of Saint Joseph as an elderly figure. There are parallel examples in three artworks from different private collections in Spain: (Barcelona, Gallus-Berges Collection; Barcelona, Fondevila Collection, 60.6 x 51.3 cm; Valencia, González Martí Collection). In comparison to those examples, this painting has a slight variation, as Saint Joseph is not holding a staff and places his hand on Mary's left shoulder.

Miguel Cabrera (Antequera de Oaxaca, Mexico, 1715 / 1720 - Mexico, 1768) 'Our Lady of Sorrows' Oil on canvas. 69,5 x 62,5 cm. Miguel Cabrera was one of the most renowned painters in the field of eighteenth-century New Spanish painting, with an oeuvre that the Dallas Museum of Art defines as 'legendary: more than 309 works from his great studio have been documented.' Little is known of his youth; In fact, according to the Andrés Blaisten Museum, it is only because of the painter's will in 1768 that we know that he was a native of Oaxaca. The first news of him is from 1739, the year of his marriage to Ana María Solano, and we also know of his stint at Juan Correa's workshop in the capital of the Viceroyalty. Archbishop Rubio Salinas was Cabrera's patron, whom he named his chamber painter. He was also a painter for the Society of Jesus, for whose churches he produced numerous works. In 1753 he was appointed president for life of the Academy of San Carlos. In 1756 Cabrera published 'American wonder and set of rare wonders observed and directed by the rules of the art of painting', a narrative about the image of the Virgin Guadalupe from the printing press of the Jesuit school of San Ildefonso. His work is kept in many churches and convents in Mexico. Two of his images of the Virgin of Guadalupe are in the Vatican Museum. Another, painted in 1756, for the temple of San Francisco Javier, is kept in the National Museum of the Viceroyalty. The Dallas Museum of Art has a Saint Gertrude the Great by Miguel Cabrera and another painting of the saint, also by Cabrera and dated 1768, is part of the collection of the José Luis Bello y Zetina Museum in Puebla, Mexico. Likewise, there is an outstanding series of Casta paintings from 1763 that is kept in the collection at the Museo de América in Madrid. They represent the families, father, mother and son of the various castes and social strata, in situations of daily life.   Reference bibliography: - Dallas Museum of Art. (n.d.). 'Saint Gertrude'. (2006.37). https://collections.dma.org/artwork/5328501  - Museo Andrés Blaisten. (s.f.). https://museoblaisten.com/Artista/79/Miguel-Cabrera

Bronze mortar. France. XVI century. 9 x 13,5 x 13,5 cm.