Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog number |
2024.8.26 |
Artist |
Unknown |
Title |
Mano Poderosa, or the All-Powerful Hand |
Date |
20th Century |
Object Name |
Sculpture |
Description |
Found in their extensive folk collection, this 20th century hand carved wood sculpture may hail from Puerto Rico and is familiar to Caribbean, Central, and South American Catholics. Perched on the tip of each finger are characteristic Las Cinco Personas (The Five Persons or The Five Lords.) Presented are the extended Holy Family on the matrilineal line, with Mary’s mother St. Anne and her son Jesus, displaying three generations in total. Separately sculpted, each figure was later attached to a finger. As a material devotional object of lay tradition, Mano Poderosa might appear on a home altar during the Feast of St. Anne (July 26th) and the Sunday before Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8th). Strikingly, Las Cinco Personas as presented here revise conventional groupings of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, Jesus, St. Anne, and St. Joachim. |
Medium/Material |
Wood |
Dimensions |
H-13.5 inches |
Culture |
Puerto Rico |