With a Viceregal Engraving of the Christ of Ixmiquilpan

Exaltación de la divina misericordia, en la milagrosa renovacion de la soberana imagen de Christo S[eño]r N[uest]ro Crucificado ...

[Mexican Colonial Engraving] Velasco, Alfonso Alberto de

Publication: México [Mexico City]: Joseph de Jauregui, 1776. Third Edition.

Notes: Featuring a full-page colonial Mexican engraving of the Christ of Ixmiquilpan (the illustrations differed with each edition). The plate is in the "statue painting" style that was popular throughout the Spanish colonies in the eighteenth century. These images depicted particular crucifixes with miraculous powers. The image in this book may draw on the painting at LACMA by José de Páez (ca. 1750–60), which has a similarly ornate perizoma (or loincloth or paño de pureza in Spanish). It is interesting to trace the evolution of the depiction of the cloth in the illustrations for this book. In 1724, the cloth was depicted tied in a fairly natural way. This version depicts it as a decorated, gravity-defying flag. Subsequent editions in 1807 and the 1840s, make the cloth even more static. The decorative ornaments at the bottom change over time, too. In 1724 there were six. In this version, there are four. By the 1840s there were two and they had morphed into lamps.

The engraving depicts a revered sculpture of Christ on the cross, brought from Spain in 1545 to Otomí, a village near Ixmiquilpan. The crucifix gained a reputation for miraculous qualities and was transferred to the Chapel of Santa Teresa inside a Discalced Carmelite convent (discalced from the Latin for barefoot, indicating a particularly ascetic order).

The text by Alfonso Alberto de Velasco (1635–1704) describes the miraculous “renewal” or restoration of the sculpture, recounting numerous miracles and wonders. The first edition of the book was published in 1699, and it appears to have been reprinted as a fundraiser for the convent. This third edition, like most others, carries this notice on the title page, "Se hallará en la Portería de dicho Convento" (To be had at the convent gatehouse).

[16], [inserted engraved plate], 134, [2] pages. 5-3/4 by 8 inches.

Medina, Imprenta in Mexico 5962. See no. 1754 for a more detailed description of the book and a short biography of the author.

Edition + Condition: Very good in contemporary vellum. One tie mostly perished. The vellum has small spots and stains; an old ink title on the spine has mostly faded. Page edges dyed pink. Contents quite clean. A nice copy.

Item No: #365401

Price: $1,850