The feminine sanctification in ivory images of Mary, mother of Jesus

Abstract

In a context permeated by conflicts, among the challenge of otherness, intercultural experiences can be identified in the colonial Portuguese Empire environment through the variety of religious iconography. In this paper, our aim is to analyze the feminine sanctification under two perspectives: if, in one hand, Mary was in the Conquer Project both the paradigm and model of woman according to the catholic doctrine, on the other, ambiguously, in its representation and technical, aesthetic and mythic traces, the Mother of Jesus was compared to female deities from religious matrices belonged to other colonized societies, as seen in the Portuguese India. Produced with ivory, symbol of prestige and great commercial value, the images of Mary represent the tensions for power beyond the polarization and the control of the Portuguese Empire.