N.S. de los Remedios

N.S. de los Remedios
Originally uploaded by bleak!

The charming statue of Virgen de los Remedios of Malate, Manila as it appears in a turn-of-the-century photo.

Enshrined at the Church of Malate in Manila in 1624, the statue is said to have been brought from Andalucia, Spain by Fr. Juan de Guevara.
It measures half a "vara", or about 17 inches high, and old accounts describe it as a "brown Virgin."
The statue must have been altered sometime in the mid 1600s or early 1700s as its face and hands were suddenly described as "white ivory" in later accounts.
Its facial features bear Filipino aesthetics; heavy lidded eyes, full cheeks and a straight pointed nose are all traits and hallmarks of colonial Philippine ivory sculptures. The use of ivory too, is indicative of local origins.
The diminutive statue of the Virgin, together with her shrine, were unfortunately destroyed in WWII.

Today, her temple has been reconstructed and her statue replaced with a larger wooden copy by the famed Manila santero, Maximo Vicente.

Source:
Angels in Stone
Galende, 1987