Reliquary In The Form Of A Bust. 17th Century. Polychromed Wood.

This is a typology very characteristic of devotional sculpture in the 16th-18th centuries, particularly in Europe and the viceroyalties, promoted by the Council of Trent. These works housed relics - bone fragments or tissues of saints - visible from the outside, as here through the opening in the chest, intended for the devotion of the faithful. The face is serene and frontal, with a certain idealization. The hair is somewhat schematized. Polychromed and gilded wood, with a predominance of reddish tones