SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- 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.

Highlights of the upcoming online sale:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.