Fanal with Christ Child resting under a filigree arch

The figure most often incorporated into a fanal is that of Christ Child. Here, He is crowned with a silver halo and leans bare, which is a reference to His birth. The ornaments, a little mattress for the reclining body of Jesus and a floral arch framing the inner shape of the fanal. This wreath is decorated with colored stones, fabric floral garlands, and leaves, and in the foreground, metallic threads.
The Museo de Artes de la Universidad de los Andes, Santiago de Chile, exhibits a group of 16 "fanales". A "fanal" is a structure that consists of a wooden base on which a bell glass or bell jar is mounted, used in Europe during the eighteenth century for scientific and decorative purposes. When transferred to Latin America it takes a totally different character: a “fanal” becomes a devotional object from the moment a religious Christian figure is placed in the inside.