Seeing, Believing, and (Mis)Understanding

A Case Study on Sino-Portuguese Ivory Sculpture of the Virgin and Child in Late Ming

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3520239
AutoresMo Guo (0000-0003-0598-2085, Macau University of Science and Technology, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume16
Fascículo6
Páginas792
Data de publicação2025-06-18
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditoraMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel16060792
OpenAlexW4411429446
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas18

In the name of God and profit, Jorge Álvares, the first Portuguese to set foot in China, arrived in 1513 and opened a new chapter for missionary work. One of the most significant forms of "Sino-Portuguese" decorative art, ivory sculpture, is closely linked to the Portuguese mission in the Orient and serves as a witness to encounters between different cultures and religions. This study focuses on representative Sino-Portuguese ivory sculptures of the Virgin and Child from the Late Ming period through a detailed analysis of iconography and a comparative visual critique with European prototypes and Guanyin representations to discuss the significance of missionary visual imagery in cultural interactions. The ivory sculpture of the Virgin and Child is not merely an image; it is a physical object with both material and visual characteristics, acquiring its religious significance during the missionary process. The present study aims to present its artistic hybridity and demonstrate how the Chinese carvers make the Sino-Portuguese "speak" different visual languages, leading to different interpretations. It also reflects the cultural translation that occurs in the complex process of religious contact. In this space of 'culture in between', Christianity has been able to transcend cultural and religious boundaries

Aesthetics · Art · Hybridity · Iconography · Linguistics · Literature · Painting · Portuguese · Sculpture · Sociology · Visual arts · Visual culture · Witness · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Latin American history and culture · Philosophy