Christ as the Holy Child of Atocha
Artist
New Mexican
DateSecond half of the 19th century
MediumWood, gesso, paint, fabric
Dimensions15.2 cm (6 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineBequest of Miss Harriet E. Clarke
Object number1945.3
DescriptionFigure of a woman seated in a chair holding a staff and a roseLabel TextThe Holy Child of Atocha refers to the depiction of the Christ Child seated on a chair dressed as a pilgrim, with a traveling staff, gourd for water, and flowers. According to tradition, a child carried food and water to relieve Spanish prisoners during the Moorish occupation of Medieval Spain. Similar stories about a child assisting trapped miners sprang up in Colonial Mexico near the town of Fresnillos in the modern state of Zacatecas.
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