Artworks
European, viceregal & Asian art
Nun's Badge with the Immaculate Conception Crowned by the Holy Trinity
Unidentified artist, Mexico, New Spain, Second half of the 18th century, probably final third
Oil and gold on sheet metal, possibly copper or a similar alloy
18 × 18 cm
The Immaculate Virgin stands at the centre of an extensive assembly of angels and saints, crowned by the Holy Trinity above. A gold border with floral sprays and winged heads...
The Immaculate Virgin stands at the centre of an extensive assembly of angels and saints, crowned by the Holy Trinity above. A gold border with floral sprays and winged heads frames the circular composition. Known as an escudo de monja, this type of devotional painting was worn over the breast as part of conventual dress in New Spain. Its imagery unites personal devotion, communal religious identity and the intimate scale of an object conceived to be worn.