Philippine Kneeling Figure Depicting Saint Ignatius

One hand raised, a sunburst behind the head, and his knee on the ground.

This kneeling figure depicting Saint Ignatius comes from the Philippines and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century, in painted wood. Carved saints, called santos in the Philippines, were made for churches and home altars, and Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuit order, long active in the islands. He kneels on one knee in a long pale blue robe, with golden tones showing through worn-looking paint. His beard is carved, one hand lifts beside the head, and the other opens at the chest. A metal sunburst halo rises behind. Twenty-one inches high.

Devotion, in a posture the knees would not forget.