RETABLOS: THE ART OF DEVOTION GOES UP FOR BID ON FEBRUARY 24 AT TURNER AUCTIONS + APPRAISALS

Online Auction Features Over 230 Lots from Mexico and South America

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 8, 2024 – Turner Auctions + Appraisals is pleased to present Retablos: The Art of Devotion on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Offering over 230 lots from a private collection in Northern California, the sale features distinctive works from Mexico and South America, including Peru and Bolivia. Almost all works are from the 19th and/or 20th centuries; most are painted in oil on tin or copper; some are framed, most are not. There is also an extensive array of relicario medallions, most from South America, and Bolivia in particular. Other religious or devotional items that round out the sale include crucifixes, santos, wood carvings, painted altars, miniature monstrances, and more.

Retablos are a widespread folk art form from the colonial Spanish or Mexican culture that gained popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Small and colorful, these devotional paintings illustrate holy images or miraculous events from traditional art of the Catholic church, depicting Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or one of the church’s many saints. Usually created by untrained artists and showcased privately in homes to enable personal devotion or to give thanks, retablos often became valued family heirlooms.

Turner Auctions + Appraisals begins its online auction on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at 10:30 am PST; sale items are available for preview and bidding now. The online auction will be featured live on multiple platforms:  LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Bidsquare, and Turner Auctions + Appraisals’ free mobile app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Apps ("Turner Auctions"). All are easily accessed through ‘Upcoming Auctions’ at the company’s website:  www.turnerauctionsonline.com/upcoming-auctions.

Here are some highlights of the upcoming online sale (please see online auction and lot details in the online catalog):  

Lot 21: A Mexican retablo of Saint Helena, holding three nails and the cross. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. 14" H x 10" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $500-$700. (Photo, top right)

Lot 55:  A Mexican retablo of the Eucharistic Man of Sorrows. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. 13 1/4" H x 9 1/4" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $300-$500. (Photo, top left)

Lot 109: Title/Description: The Holy Trinity with angels. Mexican School (19th Century). Unsigned. Medium/Ground: Oil on canvas.     6 1/2" x 9 1/4" (frame 9 1/4" x 12 1/2"). Condition: light craquelure. Estimate $400-$600. (Photo, middle right)

Lot 5:  A Mexican retablo of Our Lady of the Light, with angels holding crown. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on thin copper oval. Unsigned. 13 3/4" H x 10 1/4" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Some edge losses. Estimate $300-$500. (Photo, middle left)

Lot 19: A Mexican retablo of Saint Wilgefortis, martyred, in a red gown. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. 14" H x 10" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $400-$600. (Photo, lower right)

Lot 61: Three Mexican retablos/ex-votos: the Holy Trinity, the Divine Face, and the Lord of Mercy with souls in purgatory. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. Ranging from 5 1/2" H x 4 1/4" W, to 12" H x 8 1/2" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $300-$500. (Photo, lower left)

Lot 27:  A Mexican retablo the Holy Trinity, with an inscribed banner. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. 14" H x 10" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $300-$500. (Photo, top left)

Lot 35: A Mexican retablo of Saint Anthony, the Christ Child in a lace gown. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. 9 1/2" H x 7 1/2" W (frame 11 3/4" x 9 3/4"). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $300-$500. (Photo, top right)

Lot 157:  A Mexican/South American retablo of Saint Juan Diego revealing the miraculous image, Our Lady of Guadalupe. 19th/20th Century Mexican/South American School. Oil on thin copper plate. Unsigned. 11 7/8" H x 8 1/4" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to copper, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. The plate is curved/bowed. Estimate $400-$600. (Photo, middle left)

Lot 153:  A Mexican retablo of Saint Anthony. 19th Century Mexican School. Oil on copper. Unsigned. 8" H x 5 5/8" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to copper, and loss of pigment, scuffs, and scratches, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $500-$700. (Photo, lower right)

Lot 166:  Bolivian relicario medallion. 19th Century. A double-sided silver metal relicario medallion, the miniatures painted on metal, depicting the Mother and Child, dated 1863; with an Archangel verso. Condition: the miniatures are in good condition; the glass is cracked over the angel. Estimate $400-$600. (Photo, bottom left)

Lot 164:  Bolivian Relicario Medallion. 19th Century. An oval double-sided silver metal relicario medallion, the miniatures painted on metal, depicting the Mother and Child; with Saint Joseph verso. 3" total L. Condition: the miniatures are in good condition; some loss to the silver metal border. Estimate $300-$500. (Photo, left)

Lot 140:  Artist: F. Decroix (?). Title/ Description: The Virgin and Child with a halo of angels. Signature: Signed lower right. Medium/Ground: Oil on canvas. Date: 20th/21st Century. Size: 24" x 20". Condition: good. Estimate $200-$300. (Photo, right)

– PREVIOUS IMAGES – 

Lot 48:  A Mexican retablo of the Eucharistic Man of Sorrows. 19th/20th Century Mexican School. Oil on tin. Unsigned. 12 1/2" H x 9 1/2" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to tin, and loss of pigment, scuffs, scratches, and dents, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $600-$800. (Photo, page 1, top right)

Lot 34: A Spanish/Mexican retablo of The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of Avila. Late 18th/19th Century Spanish/Mexican School. Unsigned. Oil on copper plate. 6 3/4" H x 8 3/4" W (unframed). Condition: Visual: Grime, varnish discoloration, wear to copper, and loss of pigment, scuffs, and scratches, primarily commensurate with age. Estimate $600-$800. (Photo, page 1, lower left)

###

ABOUT TURNER AUCTIONS + APPRAISALS

Based in South San Francisco, Turner Auctions + Appraisals was founded by Stephen Turner to expand and complement the capabilities of Stephen G. Turner Associates, an auction and appraisal consulting firm founded in 2004. Turner Auctions + Appraisals presents online auctions in diverse categories of personal property (www.turnerauctionsonline.com). Among them are Fine Arts, Decorative Arts, Asian Arts, Toys, Jewelry, Militaria, Ethnic Arts, and others. The company offers a range of auction and appraisal services for buyers, sellers, and collectors. Online auctions are held several times a month. Working with leading live and online auction houses on the West Coast since 1991, Turner is a professional appraiser of personal property and seasoned auctioneer. His areas of expertise include fine art, decorative arts, antiques & residential contents. The company welcomes consignments and appraisals.

For more information about the company, please contact:

Stephen Turner, President, Turner Auctions + Appraisals, 461 Littlefield Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080

415-964-5250 / sturner@turnerauctionsonline.com / www.turnerauctionsonline.com

For media inquiries or photos, please contact:  

Jill Turner, Rodin & Shelley Associates / 707-944-2433 /  jillturnerpr@gmail.com