This Sleeping Christ Child was made in South China during the first decades of the seventeenth century. Masterfully carved from elephant ivory, the Child is depicted completely naked, reclining in a partially twisted supine posture. He lies horizontally, with his face and torso facing upwards (supine position) but slightly rotated to the right (lateral recumbent). His lower limbs are asymmetrical, forming a ‘figure-four position’ or ‘semi-recumbent twist’, with the right leg nearly extended and the left slightly bent over it. The placement of his upper limbs is equally distinctive: the left-hand rests on his chest, while the right arm is bent, with the hand almost touching His temple. This nuanced pose conveys both serenity and subtle dynamism. The relaxed alignment of the lower limbs suggests an unguarded state, the left hand evokes introspection, and the hand at His temple hints at a pensive or protective gesture.
The body’s asymmetry, with one leg bent over the other and one arm touching the temple, may subtly allude to the future Passion. Meanwhile, the slightly turned posture suggests an intermediate state—neither fully at rest nor fully alert—paralleling the Christ Child’s role as an intermediary between Heaven and Earth.
During missionary work in China at the turn of the seventeenth century, the reclining, vulnerable posture symbolised Christ’s humanity and prefigured his Passion, aligning with Jesuit efforts to emphasise Salvation through his suffering. The nuanced depiction of the infant Christ, balancing serenity and dynamism, encapsulates his dual nature as both divine and human, resonating with Chinese Neo-Confucian ideals of harmony (hé) between the spiritual and material realms.
Made from luxurious ivory with refined artistry, the figure must have appealed to Chinese aesthetic sensibilities, facilitating cultural accommodation and enhancing its efficacy in private devotion and theological instruction. Through its tactile and symbolic qualities, this ivory carving fostered meditative prayer while visually conveying key tenets of Christianity.
The iconography of the sleeping Christ Child appears to have been devised by Giacomo Francia (ca. 1447-1517) in the early sixteenth century, exemplified by an engraving in which the Child is depicted as having fallen asleep on the cross. In a tablet above the Child, a Latin inscription reads ‘Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat’, a verse from the Song of Songs (5:2), meaning ‘I sleep, but my heart waketh’; while below, beside a crown of thorns (one of the Arma Christi), a scroll bears the words ‘In somno meo requies’, or ‘In my sleep, I find rest’. The Child’s sleeping posture in the engraving, however, differs significantly from that of the Chinese ivory. In the engraving, the Child is depicted in a left recumbent position, slightly rotated downwards, with bent lower and upper limbs, the arms serving as a pillow. Alluding to the contemplative soul that remains watchful even as the body sleeps, the engraving can also be interpreted in Marian terms, as a reference to Mary’s protective role. From the moment of his birth, Mary was aware of her son’s destiny, a theme subtly evoked by the imagery.
This Marian association can also be observed in late sixteenth-century European prints, which are known to have circulated in Asia and served as models for local depictions. Among these is The Sleep of Jesus by Hieronymus Wierix, likely published just before the turn of the seventeenth century. This iconography also appears in a 1591 painting by Francesco Vanni (ca. 1563/1564-1610) for the cataletto of the Compagnia di Santa Caterina in Siena, which Vanni later reproduced as an etching in 1598, accompanied by the Latin inscription ‘Ego dormio e[t] cor meum vigilat’. The highly influential and widely circulated prints by the Wierix brothers must have provided the source for the gesture of touching of the right temple, as seen in the Chinese carving. Based on an earlier engraving by Diana Scultori (1547-1612), Hieronymus published a print title Origo casti cordis (‘Origin of the chaste heart’), which also featured the same biblical text.
In Iberia, this theme and iconography were further developed by the renowned Baroque painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618–1682), active in Seville. Murillo created a series of images depicting the infancy of Jesus, which over time became deeply ingrained in Spanish art, both in painting and sculpture. His variations on the theme—including a c. 1660 painting at the Museo del Prado, Madrid (inv. P001003), showing the Christ Child in a similar posture with bent legs and his left hand resting on his chest—often incorporate attributes of his martyrdom, prefiguring his Passion and death. These works function as visual metaphors, designed to prompt viewers to contemplate profound theological themes.
It is possible that this figurine of the sleeping Christ Child originally rested on an ivory-carved pillow or, alternatively, on a carved wooden base, similar to those found on rare contemporary figurines of the Sleeping Christ Child as the Good Shepherd. Another Sleeping Christ Child, depicted as the Good Shepherd (19.4 cm in length), with an open fleece tunic and its original pillow adorned with four tasselled corners, is known and has been published as a rare Chinese carving from the seventeenth century. Comparable in carving quality and specific stylistic details, such as knuckle dimples, is a figurine (16.4 cm in length) from the collection of the late Portuguese architect Fernando Távora (1923-2005) in Porto. Like the present example, this figurine also lacks a pillow.
The Chinese origin of this rare ivory carving is evident in its distinctive style, particularly the curls of the hair, which closely resemble those found on securely attributed Chinese carvings. Among these is an important ivory figurine (19.5 cm in height) in the Hermitage, St Petersburg (inv. ЛН-939), depicting Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of Compassion, locally known as Guānyīn (‘Perceiver of Sounds’). Reflecting a later development in Guanyin’s iconography, this Hermitage figurine depicts her seated and holding a male child, a type known as Guanyyin as the Bringer of Sons (Sòngzǐ Guānyīn).
At the turn of the seventeenth century, during the growing presence of Catholic missionaries in South China, sterile Chinese women prayed to the Virgin Mary for sons. This local iconography may have been intended as an ambiguous portrayal of the Virgin and Child. Jesuit missionaries referred to Guanyin as the ‘Goddess of Mercy’, highlighting the parallels between her imagery and that of the Virgin Mary. Notably, the Hermitage Guanyin’s hairstyle, with its linear carving, as well as the treatment of the nose, eyelids, and mouth, closely matches the carving style of the Sleeping Christ Child analysed here.

Hugo Miguel Crespo