San Pedro Mártir
Church of Santo Domingo
Diaz Ordaz, Oaxaca,
Mexico
St. Peter Martyr
(Dominican
holding book and martyr's triple palm; axe in head).
Polychrome, glass eyes, approx. 3 feet tall on solid wooden base atop a
polychromed octagonal about 18 inches by 6 inches.
The polychrome is in excellent condition and the workmanship, though
stylized,
is of great delicacy. The face is long and rectangular. The effect, in
spite of the bleeding head wound, is of restraint in the midst of great
suffering. The major block of the statue, the white and gold robe, on
being
tapped, proved to be of a solid piece of wood. The black and gold
mantle
and cape are of stiffened cloth. Three different patterns of
complicated
arabesques decorate the robe, apron and mantle. The lining of the cape,
where it is intended to be seen, is decorated in a bold black check
with
broad scratches of gold. The areas under and behind the arms are of
cream
color with slight scratches of gold. The right hand lacks the index
finger
and part of the pinky, and the right eye has slipped a little into the
head cavity.
The martyr's palm and book have been tied on, the first to the right
hand
and the second to the left. They are carved of wood and polychromed.
Their
workmanship would suggest that they are original to the statue, as is
the
axe. A long staff decorated in bold stripes of plastic holds a circle
of
woven straw decorated in yarn and has been tied to the hand that holds
the palm.
Photographed by Claire
and Richard Stracke