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.