Fanal with Christ Child as Doctorcito under a filigree tree and mother-of-pearl

A Fanal with a carved figure of Christ Child sitting on a chair (iconography called "Doctorcito" in Spanish, little Doctor), depicting the moment He is teaching to the doctors in the Temple. The scene is complemented with natural and artificial elements, like a tree of life as highlight: its trunk executed with bronze threads, silver strands for the roots, and branches with small mother-of-pearl leaves.
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.