Christ as Divine Pilot

This ivory relief depicts the 'Christ as Divine Pilot'. Other ivory versions of this object are known. The composition is related to an Indian miniature from the Jahangir Album, ca. 1600-1610, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Albeit the variants seem ultimately come from a common source (probably an engraving), they differ sufficiently from one another to suggest that they were produced not only in different workshops, but in different parts of the world. The form of the clouds and the moulded frame of the present piece are reminiscent of Chinese ivories made for the Spanish market. Although its date remains uncertain, it seems likely that this relief dates from the first half of the seventeenth century, and, as argued above, is either Chinese or Hispano- filipino.