San Nicolás
Church of San Juan Guelavia, Oaxaca, Mexico
Franciscan
habit
with cord, skull, halo, tonsure. A skull rests on
the open
left palm.
Polychrome
(?);
glass eyes, lashes; 2 feet tall.
San Juan
Teitipac and Santa Maria
Zaachila, also
in Oaxaca, have statues of this saint that were
identified as "San Nicolás"
by our informants there.Much dust has covered the statue, but one can still admire the life-like sheen to the skin. The detailing of the hands is rather perfunctory, as is the skull. The right hand is broken and hanging from the wrist by little more than a thread. Red wax has been drizzled onto the fracture at the wrist, as if to represent blood. The garments and cord are part of the carving.
The statue has been repainted, but high on the breast of the habit some of the most recent paint has chipped away, revealing a glint of gold beneath that seems to be polychrome. There is a similar chip at the left shoulder.
More of St.
Nicholas Factor
Photo:
Claire and Richard
Stracke. This
photo is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 3.0 Unported license.