Attributed to Manuel de Chili Lot n° 67

"The Adoration of Kings and Shepherds" Gilded, silvered and polychromed carved wooden sculptural group. 56 x 83 x 17 cm. This sculpture is undoubtedly one of the most important from among the artist’s known output. This lot has been imported, so its export license from the spanish Ministry of Culture is guaranteed. It must have been an important commission, by someone in a high political or ecclesiastical position. It must be remembered that Caspicara was born in the city of Quito, then the capital of the Spanish Royal Court of the same name. The Audiencia y Cancillería Real de Quito (1563-1822) was the highest court of the Spanish Crown in the territories of the province. This sculpture is clearly comparable to the Saint Joseph and the Child that is kept in the Museum of San Francisco in Quito. It is evident that the Saint Joseph that appears in both sculptures is the same model, although this one has a longer beard. Even the clothing has almost identical ornamentation. Likewise, we find the hat that covers the head of the shepherdess in other work by Caspicara. Sculpturally, he achieved great mastery in handling the gouge, as is demonstrated in the treatment of all the characters, who have extremely delicate features, beautiful faces, thin and precious hands. Each character has a specific movement and gesture at the wonder of contemplating the newborn Jesus. The sculptor shows us the scene with great theatricality and movement. The decoration deserves a particular mention, made with the special and unique technique of the Quito workshops. Caspicara was a genius with polychrome, having his own personal colour palette, and with the characteristic stamp of combining and adapting European and indigenous features. All this is evident in this sculpture. There is no space free of detail in the polychrome, painted with a brush on gold and silver. The richness of the polychrome is marvellous, with infinite shades of colour which, together with the brilliant carnations and with that porcelain appearance characteristic of Caspicara, achieves an effect that goes beyond the artistic, transmitting great spirituality and devotion. Manuel Chili, known by his artistic name, "Caspicara", was one of the most important indigenous sculptors of the so-called Quito School of the 18th century. His teachers were Diego de Robles and Bernardo de Legarda, with whom he collaborated as a young man in their workshops. In fact, he is considered the successor in the art of imagery to Bernardo de Legarda, who created magnificent sculptures, especially in wood or marble. Caspicara began his work making images at a very early age, according to the historian Jaime Aguilar de Paredes, until he achieved a mastery that placed him at the level of European artists. Specializing in religious motifs made of wood and marble, his work was made for the most important altars in churches and convents in the region, although his sculptures also reached Europe to form part of the collections of the nobility and monarchy. The Quito school, led by Caspicara, reached its maximum splendour in the 17th and 18th centuries, being of great prestige among the colonies as well as in the Spanish Court in Madrid.  Its production was one of the activities that contributed the most income to the Royal Court of Quito. The phrase attributed to King Charles III, referring to the Quito School, is well known: "I am not worried that Italy has Michaelangelo, in my American colonies I have the master Caspicara". His best-known works are in Quito Cathedral and in San Francisco Church in Quito, as well as in the Hispanic Society of America. Likewise, as the Cervantes Institute website indicates: “Due to the beauty of the way in which they were prepared, the Christ of Bethlehem is outstanding; also, the recumbent Christ and the Virgin of Light that watch over the Museum of the Central Bank of Ecuador; the Assumption of the Virgin that adorns the Church of San Francisco; the Impression of the Wounds, located in La Cantuña; and in particular, the Holy Shroud that visitors to the cathedral of Quito can admire.” Reference bibliography: Aguilar Paredes, Jaime "Grandes Personalidades de la Partria Ecuatoriana". Ed. Fray Judoco Ricke, p. 104.