Vintage Santos Cage Doll

Item Details

A vintage santos doll. This example belongs to a particular sub genre of carved santos statues called cage dolls, which during a procession would have had a long fabric skirt around the bottom. This large carved wooden figure features the typical cage bottom seen in such sculptures, and a polychrome painted finish in blue and browns. The arms are articulated and the hands are postured individually. No signatures or marks visible.

This doll would have been created to serve in the home of a family in place of a fortified Church as an altar and vessel of worship and piety. Santos were also created in the absence of a priest or in times of war when traveling to church could mean losing one’s life. The statues were also employed in processionals and parades of the Catholic ecclesiastic community wherein they would be elegantly dressed in finely decorated garments, wings, and crowns made specifically for the occasion.

Condition

- minor markings throughout, paint chipping, has been touched up with paint

Dimensions

Item #

18CLT045-041