St Christopher

This ivory statuette representing St. Christopher carrying the Child Christ astride on his shoulders, was made in ca. 1650-1700, perhaps in Portugal. This statuette is on an ebony base, supported by three ivory feet in the form of winged monsters. Despite certain differences in for example the drapery and the pose of the Christ Child, this ivory is very likely based on an engraving by Aegidius Sadeler (ca. 1570-1629), dedicated to Wolfgang Jacob Hoffmann, the Prior of the Augustine Monastery in Vienna. The engraving again is a reproduction of a painting by the Venetian painter Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592), which is now in Havana.