Description: FROM MADEIRA WITH LOVE.... Found in an estate liquidation on the island of Madeira in Portugal, that of a retired antiques dealer. Antique hand carved statue of Saint Paul the Apostle holding a serpent. Some research revealed the connection...... St. Paul is credited with ridding Malta of venomous snakes after he and St. Luke were shipwrecked there. While gathering firewood, a viper bit Paul’s hand and he shook it off. “They were expecting him to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead but, after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god” (Acts 28:6). Paul, of course, lived. Today, there are no venomous snakes on Malta and pious tradition says this is because Paul’s actions drained all the snakes on the island of their venom. The figure was carved from a dense hardwood, Portuguese Walnut, known as "Nogueira". A true example of Portuguese folk art, it stands approximately 13 1/2 inches tall. All the details are intact, having survived free of chips, cracks or repairs. The wood is dense and hard, the statue solid and weighty in the hand. Having spent decades in workroom storage, the finish has an oiled feel, not varnished or shellacked. On Madeira Island, wood carving was a favorite pastime for many amateur craftsman, especially when the vineyards and potato fields were dormant. Before tourism and the internet, men used to whittle while the women focused on various types of Madeiran needlework. Rarely do these family pieces surface for sale as they were from the hands of a past generation and highly cherished. I inserted a standard size playing card in one photo as a reference for size. MUCH OBLIGED
Price: 78 USD
Location: Sao Vicente
End Time: 2024-02-23T15:53:01.000Z
Shipping Cost: 52.75 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type of Wood: Portuguese Nogueira (Walnut)
Religion: Christianity
Style: Naïve Folk Art
Material: Wood
Height: 13 1/2 Inch
Features: Hand Carved
Country/Region of Manufacture: Portugal
Date Of Creartion: First half last century
Handmade: Yes
Figure: Saints
