Skulptur, Ecce Agnus Dei - 19th Century - 42 cm - Trä

Saint John the Baptist with the Mystic Lamb. Portguese devotional sculpture, dating from the late 19th century, carved, sculpted and polychromed wood, representing Saint John the Baptist in full length, accompanied by the Mystic Lamb. The saint stands upright, in a frontal and slightly dynamic composition, with head tilted and eyes raised, giving the figure a contemplative expression. The face presents elongated features, painted eyes, short hair arranged in wavy strands and a carefully delineated brown beard. Saint John wears a short tunic, light in tone, cinched at the waist with a belt, over which lies a side-slung animal skin painted in browns and blacks. This attire alludes to the saint’s penitential life and solitude in the desert, constituting one of his most characteristic iconographic attributes. In the left hand he holds the Mystic Lamb, a symbolic representation of Christ as the Agnus Dei. In the right hand he points to the lamb, in direct reference to the words spoken by Saint John the Baptist upon recognizing Jesus: “Ecce Agnus Dei” — “Behold the Lamb of God.” The figure also holds a long processional cross, formed by a simple shaft topped with a horizontal crossbar. From it hangs a red pennant, cut at the lower edge and decorated with the painted inscription: “ECC. AGNUS DEI”. The inscription constitutes an abbreviated form of the traditional Latin expression associated with the saint’s iconography. The Lamb rests against the figure’s left arm, with its head raised and its coat worked through by small incisions and brushstrokes in yellowish, ochre and brown tones. The sculpture sits on an elevated base, approximately rectangular in shape with a rounded upper end, simulating rocky ground or vegetation. The base features marbleized polychromy in shades of green, brown and ochre, ending in a smooth black pad. The simplified treatment of the anatomy, the frontal composition, the naive facial expression and the folk-character polychromy allow the piece to be framed within the tradition of Portuguese religious imagery of regional production, probably intended for domestic devotion, private chapels, small altars or processional spaces. Portugal, late 19th century. Carved, sculpted and polychromed wood. Height: 42 cm.