La Degollación de San Juan
Bautista
Church of San Juan
Teitipac, Oaxaca, Mexico
St. John the Baptist
(Severed
head in bowl, halo).
Wood, gesso, paint; tin halo; glass eyes, lashes, sculpted hair,
sculpted
teeth; life size.
The eyes are unusually large and expressive. Plentiful blood shows at
the
base of the neck. The halo is in the form of six concentric rings and
is
attached to the head by a peg. Some paint has flaked from the right
temple.
The bowl and stand seem to be sculpted of one piece and not of the same
quality as the head itself, which is of fine work.
Photographed at the
site by Claire and Richard Stracke