Infant Jesus Saviour of the World

The naked Child Jesus standing on a sphere sculpted in ivory, is one of the most common images made from this material found in Goa, although now increasingly rare. They were very much in vogue in the 17th century, copied from a European prototype which had spread to the Portuguese and Spanish Indies, returning to the Iberian Peninsula in large numbers to be venerated in both church and as part of private devotion. An identical figure appears on the printed frontispiece of a sacred book published in Lisbon in 1618.
Besides the anatomical simplification of the Infant, seen facing front and without the folds and wrinkles proper to a child of such tender age, what stands out in this image is the treatment of the long grave face, accentuated by the loss of the original colouring. The Indian features evident in the short well defined locks that end in curls on either side of his face contrast with the above characteristics. The slight prominence of the central curl could well owe something to Budhhist influences, imitating as it does the characteristic sign of illumination found in images of the Buddha.