A Sinhalese-Portuguese Christ Crucified

Among the religious ivory carvings made in Portuguese-ruled Ceylon, the most abundant are those related to the Passion of Christ, with figures of the Crucified Christ of different sizes and carving quality, totalling hundreds of surviving examples.[1] These, as Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563-1611) conveys in his Itinerario (1596), were highly appreciated: ‘My maister the Archbishop [of Goa] had a crucifixe of Ivorie of an elle long [± 69 cm], presented unto him, by one of the inhabitants of the Ile, and made by him so cunningly and workmanly wrought, that in the hayre, beard, and face, it séemed to be alive, and in al [other parts] so neatly wrought and proportioned in limmes, that the like can not be done in [all] Europe’.[2]

            As with the archbishop’s magnificent large crucifix, this miniature depiction of the Crucified Christ reflects a similar pursuit of perfection by the master carver, showcasing meticulous anatomical precision and the highest standards of carving quality and modelling. The exquisite portrayal of the skin over Christ’s gaunt chest and ribs, including details like his navel and the slender, muscular arms with bulging veins, is astonishing. Equally captivating are the intricate arrangements of the tense muscles and tendons of the expiring Christ’s back, his stiffened hands, and the delicate ringlets of loose hair flowing from his downcast head. The same naturalism may be seen in the depiction of Christ’s loincloth or perizonium (or the Greek equivalent, perizoma), with its perfectly modelled folds and curls reminiscent of the local rendition of draped, multifold unstitched garments. Holes on the hands and feet suggest that the carving was once nailed to a small wooden cross, while its small scale points to it being a portable object of devotion rather than for display and veneration at a private altar. Another likely alternative is its use as the central element in larger ivory carving compositions depicting the Calvary, with some more or less complete examples surviving from Portuguese-ruled Ceylon.[3] Ceylonese ivory carvings of the Crucified Christ have survived in Portuguese public and private collections in considerable numbers.[4] Occasionally, they are found set on later wooden crosses or incorporated into more complex multi-figure arrangements depicting the Calvary. Nevertheless, images of this size, and most importantly, of this quality, are extremely rare.