Infant Jesus as Saviour of the World, polychrome sculpture, Belgium (Malines) ca 1500-1520

Infant Jesus (Mechelen/Malines, Walnut, 1500-1520).
Mechelen was a city renowned for its religious wood carvings in the 15th and 16th centuries.
This Infant Jesus is a typical example of the religious art of the period, often commissioned for churches, chapels or private devotions.
The use of walnut as a material is significant, as it was valued for its durability, fine grain and ability to be carved with very fine detail. The sculpture might show the Infant Jesus in simple garb, holding a globe in his hand, a symbol of his role as redeemer and his sovereignty over the world. The gentle, benevolent expressions of the Infant Jesus would be typical of religious art in Mechelen at the time.