Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Infant Jesus Asleep
(Baroque Europe )
The sleeping Infant Jesus lies on his back with his right hand raised to lightly touch his gilded hair. A slight smile plays over his face. The sleeping figure may have been intended to be displayed in a little manger, perhaps part of a Nativity scene. This and two other carvings of the infant Jesus were all carved in the Philippines, likely by artists of Chinese origins, for a religious market in Spain or possibly the Americas; see further 71.392.
Qualities that may reflect a Chinese stylistic sensibility include: the heavy eyelids, ankle crease, and the curious gesture that is unexplained unless it is derived from the image of the sleeping Buddha with the right hand raised to his cheek. The left foot has been repaired.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Geographies
Philippines (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 8 9/16 in. (21.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
71.405