Christ crucified ivory sculpture Sino-Portuguese 16th/17th C. an arm and two fingers with gluing Southern China, probably Zhangzhou. Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 44 cm Notes: This sculpture is studied and represented in CRESPO, Hugo Miguel - "Arte Cristã Chinesa - Dos Mares do Sul da China à Corte Imperial (1580-1900) ". Lisbon: São Roque Antiguidades - Galeria de Arte, 2025, pp. 26-29, fig. 16, where it is explicitly stated: "A large example [Fig. 16], recently identified in a private Portuguese collection, stands out in terms of the quality of the carving. The carving techniques and production processes of this remarkable piece - evident in the photomicrographs [Fig. 17] - are characteristic of this production, which sought to preserve the size of the tusks as much as possible, even at the cost of exposing the outer layer or cementum, as can be seen on Christ's forehead, for example, or using pegs to conceal natural cavities."

This figure of Christ Crucified was carved from elephant ivory in southern China, probably in Zhangzhou (Fujian province), between the last decade of the 16th century and the first decades of the following century. 1 Zhangzhou, one of the most important cities on the coast of Fujian province, was a notable center of ivory carving at the end of the Ming dynasty. The tradition of carving secular and religious figures (for private Buddhist and Taoist altars) in ivory in southern Fujian was strengthened by the new appreciation and consumption of luxury goods among the urban elite. Europeans with access to Fujian markets and their local and inland agents—Christian merchants and missionaries, as well as perhaps local recent converts—would have begun commissioning religious ivory sculptures, a demand that was quickly met by Chinese artisans. Although ivory does not appear listed among Fujian products during that period, as early as 1573 Fujian merchants were carrying crucifixes—undoubtedly similar to our Crucified Christ—for sale in Manila. 2 More strongly Sinicized devotional ivories were, it seems, carved in Fujian in this context, some – like those from the shipwreck of the Santa Margarita (1601) – having arrived in the Philippines and then sailed to Acapulco aboard the Manila galleon. 3 Other figures, commissioned more directly by the new clientele, especially Spanish missionaries stationed in the Philippines, were probably produced in Manila, adhering more closely to contemporary European aesthetic canons. Demand was so high, and profit margins so attractive, that a growing number of Fujianese artisans and merchants settled in Manila from the 1580s onwards. Depicted as already dead, with his head inclined towards his right shoulder, Christ's facial features show a strong Sinicization, highlighting his high forehead, long, straight hair (dyed brown), arched eyebrows, almond-shaped and closed eyes, flat nose, and thin lips. The outstretched arms were carved separately and attached to the body, while the right foot is nailed onto the left. The somewhat angular treatment of Christ's finely carved perizoma, with its numerous folds, is characteristic of contemporary Chinese sculpture. Among the Christian religious ivory carved in Asia under European influence, the most abundant are related to the Passion of Christ, with figures of the Crucified Christ, of different dimensions and quality of carving, totaling hundreds of examples. This is not surprising, given the central role in Christian theology attributed to the Crucifixion, symbolizing Christ's sacrifice for the salvation of humanity. For the missionaries who carried out their evangelical activity in Asia at the beginning of the 17th century, the image of the Crucified Christ constituted a powerful instrument to communicate the essential principle of Christianity – redemption through suffering and death. An identical Crucified Christ belongs to the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore. 4

Hugo Miguel Crespo, November 2025 1 Published in Hugo Miguel Crespo, “Arte Cristã Chinesa. Dos Mares do Sul da China à Corte Imperial (1580-1900) “, Lisbon, São Roque Antiguidades & Galeria de Arte, 2025, pp. 26, 28-29, figs. 16-17. 2 See Derek Gillman, “Ming and Qing Ivories: figure carving”, in William Watson (ed.), Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing, London, The Oriental Ceramic Society - British Museum, 1984, pp. 35-52, on p. 37. 3 Regarding the ivories of Santa Margarita, see Marjorie Trusted, “Survivors of a Shipwreck: Ivories from a Manila Galleon of 1601”, Hispanic Research Journal, 14.5 (2013), pp. 446-462. 4 Alan Chong (ed.), Christianity in Asia. Sacred Art and Visual Splendor (cat.), Singapore, Museum of Asian Civilizations, 2016, p. 189, cat. 77 (entry from William R. Sargent's catalogue). a) This lot is subject to CITES export/import restrictions and is duly certified: No. 23PTLX12428C; b) Currently, the importation of goods incorporating materials from protected wild flora and fauna species is prohibited by several countries. b) Currently, several countries prohibit the import of goods incorporating materials from protected species of wild fauna and flora, including, among others, ivory, coral, and tortoiseshell; c) In Portugal, in accordance with the planned transposition into national legislation of the most recent EU guidelines on the ivory trade, the issuance of re-export certificates to countries outside the EU is suspended; d) In this context, potential buyers are advised to inform themselves beforehand about the legislation of their country and applicable international restrictions.