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La Virgincita: Technical Study of an Indo-Christian Statue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

M. Susan Barger  and
Weiliang Gong
M. Susan Barger
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.
Weiliang Gong
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.
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Abstract

A small stone statue of the Virgin Mary was recently found that is one of two free-standing Indo Christian sculptures known to be in the United States. The Indo-Christian style of art marks the transition from pre-Columbian art to Christian art and most examples of this style are found on buildings in Mexico. The statue, ”la Virgincita,” is patterned after an European engraving, however the decorative details in the stone carving are Aztecan. This paper is a description of the materials characterization of the statue and a study of its technical details using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 462: Symposium DD – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology V , 1996 , 381
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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References

REFERENCES

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