When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A Mexican folk portrait of a young couple, carved from wood, painted by hand, and standing in its carved base. A young woman with long dark hair rests her head behind the young man’s shoulder, in the classic studio pose of the 1940s. It came to me through the dealer who supplies my ex-voto retablos.
The work
Portraits like this were made in Mexico from a family’s studio photograph. The carver cut the sitters’ outline from a board, carved their clothes in relief and painted them, much as a fotoescultura was made. Here the faces are painted entirely by hand rather than mounted from the photograph, so the portrait carries the painter’s own hand: large dark eyes with white highlights, a red mouth, and a fine moustache on the young man.
She wears a dark plum bodice under an off-the-shoulder ruffle carved in deep pleats and painted lavender blue. He wears a grey jacket with notched lapels, a white shirt and a maroon tie. The figure is cut from a ¾ in panel and slotted into a dark-stained base carved along both faces with a band of triangular notches. On the back, the outline is faceted by knife around the hair.
Measurements
Overall with base: 11" W x 8.5" H (27.9 x 21.6 cm)
Base: 1" H x 3" D (2.5 x 7.6 cm)
Carved figure: ¾" thick (1.9 cm)
Condition
Dry-dusted with a soft cotton cloth only; no wet cleaning and no restoration. The paint is sound, with light scratches across the woman’s shoulder and face, a small red mark on her forehead, a dark mark beside the young man’s right eye, and rubbing to the hair and edges. Salmon underpaint shows along the outlines and where the figure meets the base. The back is bare wood with old reddish stains and a visible joint where two boards meet. The base has small chips at its corners.
Appraisal
Gallery replacement value: $550. This is what it would cost to replace this portrait through a gallery, for insurance and estate purposes.
One photograph shows the portrait staged in a setting, provided only to help you picture it on display. The portrait is unaltered and untouched. Photographs of the actual piece, taken in natural morning daylight, are included. Only the portrait and its base are included.
Shipping and import fees
Shipping is free. Depending on your country, it travels by express or by standard international service, always with tracking, which you will receive upon purchase. Import duty and tax are paid by the buyer. Tariff code 4420.19. If your delivery country differs from your account country, message me before purchasing.
Destination | Import duty | Import tax | Estimated total
United States | set by customs at delivery | none collected at import | assessed at delivery
Canada | set by customs at delivery | 5% GST, or 13–15% HST by province | $13 – $39 plus any duty
United Kingdom | set by customs at delivery | 20% VAT, collected at delivery | about $53 plus any duty
European Union | set by customs at delivery | 17% – 27% VAT, collected at delivery | $45 – $71 plus any duty
Australia | none on orders under AUD 1,000 | 10% GST, charged at checkout | about $26, paid at checkout
Where anything is collected at delivery, the carrier may add a small handling fee.
Questions? You will always reach a real person, never AI.
God bless,
Ricardo Ivan Cardenas EMBA
St. Joseph’s University New York Business School Graduate
Price
$263
