Unknown
Processional Standard with the Head of Christ18th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Processional Standard with the Head of Christ
Place Made: India, Goa
Date Made: 18th century
Medium: Ivory with paint; silk and linen tassels
Dimensions: 17 1/4 x 1 3/4 in. (43.82 x 4.45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Paul F. Walter
Accession Number: M.87.227.2a-b
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Festivals with ritual processions featuring icons, crosses, and religious pendants carried aloft, and often accompanied by the singing and reciting of hymns and prayers, were central to the historical liturgical practices of Christianity, especially Catholicism. Processions were performed in honor of numerous events in the life of the community, including commemorating holidays and pilgrimages to sacred shrines.

This festooned ivory standard is adorned with the Head of Christ. His eyes are half-shut as if in prayer or meditation, which may reflect an iconographic assimilation of divine physical features from earlier artistic depictions of the Buddha or a Jina. An additional noteworthy facial feature is the pronounced forelock, a frequent stylistic trait of South and Southeast Asian images of Christ and several Christian saints.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.2. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1988.

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Processional Standard with the Head of Christ
Place Made: India, Goa
Date Made: 18th century
Medium: Ivory with paint; silk and linen tassels
Dimensions: 17 1/4 x 1 3/4 in. (43.82 x 4.45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Paul F. Walter
Accession Number: M.87.227.2a-b
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Festivals with ritual processions featuring icons, crosses, and religious pendants carried aloft, and often accompanied by the singing and reciting of hymns and prayers, were central to the historical liturgical practices of Christianity, especially Catholicism. Processions were performed in honor of numerous events in the life of the community, including commemorating holidays and pilgrimages to sacred shrines.

This festooned ivory standard is adorned with the Head of Christ. His eyes are half-shut as if in prayer or meditation, which may reflect an iconographic assimilation of divine physical features from earlier artistic depictions of the Buddha or a Jina. An additional noteworthy facial feature is the pronounced forelock, a frequent stylistic trait of South and Southeast Asian images of Christ and several Christian saints.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.2. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1988.