Ex Voto, The Green Cross Of Tequisquiapan, Mexico, 19th Century

Finely painted ex-voto originating from Tequisquiapan, northwest of Mexico City.
This ex-voto of singular prestige was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2001 and has now been reacquired by a private collection.

It depicts the miraculous Green Cross and is exceptionally signed in full, at the lower right, by the artist: fecit José Mía Rojas, “made by José María Rojas.”
At the lower left, one reads: Vo Ro Del Sr De TEQUISPAN: Vo Ro del Sr de Tequispan = Verdadero Retrato de Señor de Tequispan, “the true image of the Lord of Tequispan.”
The item is sold together with the 2001 Sotheby’s catalogue.

The myth of the Green Cross of Tequispan, from an excerpt of an essay from Cambridge University:

— Their stories of devotion and special rites revolved around a wondrous living cross and the celebrations of the Holy Cross dating back to 1770. Most informants spoke of an oak tree in the shape of a cross that appeared on Cerro Grande, a hill above the town. Local people went to see the cross and pray, and the place became known as Cruz Verde, the “living cross.” But the owner of the hill eventually closed the site to visitors, and his foreman cut down the tree and dragged it into town, to the barrio of San Juan, where it became too heavy to move further — or his horse died and he abandoned the load, or he was thrown off and died on the spot. Several people from San Juan emphasized that, however the cross arrived there, it was a sign that “it wanted that place for its chapel.” —

Bibliographic references:

• William B. Taylor, Theater of a Thousand Wonders: A History of Miraculous Images and Shrines in New Spain, Cambridge University Press, 2016.

• William B. Taylor, Placing the Cross in Colonial Mexico, in The Americas, Vol. 69, No. 2 (October 2012), pp. 145-178.

• William B. Taylor, Theater of a Thousand Wonders: A History of Miraculous Images and Shrines in New Spain, Cambridge University Press, 2016.

• William B. Taylor, Placing the Cross in Colonial Mexico, in The Americas, Vol. 69, No. 2 (October 2012), pp. 145-178.

Condition: Good — used, with minor signs of age.
Country of origin: Mexico
Material: tin-plated iron sheet
Dimensions: Weight: 65 g — Height: 15.3 cm — Width: 11.1 cm — Depth: 0.2 cm

The vividness of the colours, the meticulous detailing of Christ’s depiction, and the uniqueness of the “green cross” make it a truly one-of-a-kind piece.

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