Ca 1825 / Oil on panel / 39 x 33 cm / Artist: anonymous / Luis Ma. Araneta collection on exhibit at the San Agustin Church Museum Complex

The [Kuan-Yin Nuestra Señora del Rosario] is a fine example of the expertise of the 19th-century Chinese itinerant painter. Massacres, expatriations, and bans on immigration drove the Chinese immigrant artist to remote provinces. The reputed master of the [Kuan-yin Nuestra Señora del Rosario] migrated to Bohol. His works date to the first quarter of the 19th century, and while in Manila might have been influenced by Damian Domingo and Juan Arceo.

The [Kuan-Yin Nuestra Señora del Rosario] is painted on panel enclosed in an upright altar frame, an exclusive design for self-standing pictures in Bohol. The frame is painted in bright red, orange, and green. It is composed of three sections, the top a stylized rounded pediment embellished with carved floral and leaf motifs. The remaining sections are the sides or wings identically adorned. Flanking the image are Solomonic columns similarly ornate.

The [Kuan-Yin Nuestra Señora del Rosario] follows the conventional del Rosario composition of the 18th and 19th centuries. Mary carries Jesus with her left arm; on her right is a rosary, which Jesus also holds. However, certain features distinguish this actual piece. First, Mary’s pose is styled like the Kuan-Yin, the Chinese goddess of mercy, as in the tilt of her head. Her garments are also decorated in a uniquely Chinese style—particularly, instead of simple flowing lines, a series of bead-sized leaflike decorations adorn the hem of her cape. Mary’s blue cape is also worn such that the hem is drawn across her figure in curves accented by the aforementioned designs. In turn these designs set off the borders of the sleeves of her red robe and that of her collar. Both the sleeves and the collar are likewise decorated with the gold-leaf designs.

Christ is uniquely adorned with potencias, rays emanating from the top of his head in the shape of trident-like flames, a symbol of wisdom inspired by Buddha images. The potencias in Buddhism symbolize the three faculties of the soul: memory, understanding, and will.