This fine ivory plaque, carved in the Philippines (Manila) by Chinese craftsmen, was intended for private devotional practice and depicts the New Testament episode of The Circumcision (Luke 2:21). Carved from a single transversely cut section of elephant ivory, it is remarkable for its carving quality, modelling, and exceptional final polish. The carver’s Chinese origin is evident from the characteristic treatment of clouds, almond-shaped eyes of distinctive eyelids, and geometric schematism of drapery folds. Unlike other similar ivory plaques carved in the Philippines, the one herein described does not strictly follow a specific printed source, its composition, which may be considered original, seemingly drawing from two engravings by Heinrich Ulrich the Elder (1567-after 1621). These, belonging to a series of thirty-two small prints (approx. 8 x 7 cm) dating from between 1590 and 1621 and depicting Scenes from the Life Christ, were published under the title Vita, passio et resurrectio Jesu Christi. Heinrich Ulrich the Elder, was born in Nuremberg, where he worked from 1595, later moving to Wolfenbüttel (1600-1602) and Vienna (1613-1619). Some of his numerous published printed works were based on compositions by Netherlandish artists such as Maerten de Vos (1532-1603) and Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617). From Ulrich’s Circumcision print (no.5), the carver borrowed the figure of The Child Christ, although inverting His legs position as well as the holding priest’s figure. The vertical arrangement of two male characters carrying torches and the general form of the curtain to the right, do also reflect this engraving. From the Presentation in the Temple (no.7) the carver adapted the kneeling Virgin, now empty handed, Saint Joseph behind Her and the standing high priest. This latter print has also provided much of the architectural setting, although the arches in the background were somewhat misunderstood by the master carver. In accordance with Jewish law and as a testimony to his obedience to Biblical law, Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth, during the Brit milah ceremony in which he was named. This event has traditionally been regarded as the first shedding of Christ’s blood, thus marking the beginning of humanity’s redemption and proof of Christ’s full humanity. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Circumcision held particular significance in missionary activity in Asia, in its alignment with Counter-Reformation principles. As Christ’s first act of obedience to divine law, the episode symbolised humility and submission, thus providing a model for the newly converted to embrace Church authority and submit to its teachings. In the Counter-Reformation context, this concept reinforced loyalty to the Catholic Church amid the growing Protestant challenges.The event, prefiguring the Passion and the establishment of a universal covenant, underscored the importance of sacramental participation. Missionaries paralleled this with baptism, as the rite of initiation into the new covenant, and ultimately as essential for salvation.Devotional plaques of complex religious imagery were not simply intended as visual aids for the evangelical teaching practices promoted in Asia by the Jesuits, but also as export items, particularly to Central and South America and the Iberian Peninsula. Recent archaeological finds, notably from the Manila galleon Santa Margarita (1601), shipwrecked off the Mariana islands (Ladrones), have yielded valuable information on the chronology and making of devotional ivories by Chinese and Filipino master carvers in early seventeenth-century Philippines, a production that predated by several decades the Goan ivory carving industry.
Hugo Miguel Crespo