Fanal with Christ Child reclined and silver segmented halo

Christ Child is crowned with a silver carved segmented halo, exalting His emanating radiance and wearing a thin robe. He is resting on a mattress covered with a crochet blanket, surrounded by a decoration consisting of colorful flowers, including some pansies, and fabric leaves. This floral layout is repeated on the arch around the inside of the fanal, together with conifer twigs and some birds.
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.