Turner Auctions – Retablos: The Art of Devotion
Online Auction: February 24 • 1:30pm EST
www.turnerauctionsonline.com
461 Littlefield, South San Francisco, CA 94080

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. — Turner Auctions + Appraisals will present Retablos: The Art of Devotion on Saturday, February 24. Offering more than 230 lots from a private collection in northern California, the online sale features distinctive works from Mexico and South America, including Peru and Bolivia. Almost all works are from the Nineteenth and/or Twentieth Centuries; most are painted in oil on tin or copper; some are framed, most are not. There is also an extensive array of relicario medallions, most from South America, and Bolivia in particular. Other religious or devotional items that round out the sale include crucifixes, santos, wood carvings, painted altars, miniature monstrances and more.

Retablos are a widespread folk art form from the colonial Spanish or Mexican culture that gained popularity in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Small and colorful, these devotional paintings illustrate holy images or miraculous events from traditional art of the Catholic church, depicting Jesus, the Virgin Mary or one of the church’s many saints. Usually created by untrained artists and showcased privately in homes to enable personal devotion or to give thanks, retablos often became valued family heirlooms.

Among some highlights of the upcoming online sale: a Mexican retablo of Saint Helena, holding three nails and the cross, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on tin, unsigned, 14 by 10 inches ($500/700); a Mexican retablo of the Eucharistic Man of Sorrows, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on tin, unsigned, 13¼ by 9¼ inches, unframed ($300/500); the Holy Trinity with angels, Mexican School (Nineteenth Century), unsigned, oil on canvas, 6½ by 9¼ inches ($400/600); and a Mexican retablo of Our Lady of the Light, with angels holding crown. Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on thin copper oval, unsigned, 13¾ by 10¼ inches, unframed ($300/500).

Also on offer are a Mexican retablo of Saint Wilgefortis, martyred, in a red gown, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on tin, unsigned, 14 by 10 inches, unframed ($400/600); three Mexican retablos/ex-votos: the Holy Trinity, the Divine Face and the Lord of Mercy with souls in purgatory, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on tin, unsigned ($300/500); a Mexican retablo the Holy Trinity, with an inscribed banner, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on tin, unsigned, 14 by 10 inches, unframed ($300/500); and Mexican retablo of Saint Anthony, the Christ Child in a lace gown, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican School, oil on tin, unsigned, 9½ by 7½ inches ($300/500).

A few other highlights include a Mexican retablo of Saint Anthony. Nineteenth Century, Mexican School, oil on copper, unsigned, 8 by 5-5/8 inches, unframed ($500/700); a Mexican/South American retablo of Saint Juan Diego revealing the miraculous image, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, Mexican/South American School, oil on thin copper plate, unsigned, 11-7/8 by 8¼ inches, unframed ($400/600); Bolivian relicario medallion, Nineteenth Century, double-sided silver metal relicario medallion, the miniatures painted on metal, depicting the Mother and Child, dated 1863, with an Archangel verso ($400/600); and a Bolivian Relicario medallion, Nineteenth Century, oval double-sided silver metal relicario medallion, the miniatures painted on metal, depicting the Mother and Child, with Saint Joseph verso, 3 inches total length ($300/500).

Turner Auctions + Appraisals begins its online auction on Saturday, February 24, at 10:30 am PST; sale items are available for preview and bidding now. The online auction will be featured live on multiple platforms: LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Bidsquare and Turner Auctions + Appraisals’ free mobile app. For information, www.turnerauctionsonline.com/upcoming-auctions or 415-964-5250.

Preview & register to bid at: www.turnerauctionsonline.com/upcoming-auctions
888-498-4450 info@turnerauctionsonline.com