How do I date a wooden religious sculpture?

Dating relies on tool marks, timber species, style of drapery and the presence of original gesso or paint layers. Sixteenth and seventeenth-century works often show deep hand-chisel marks and dense hardwoods. Later nineteenth-century gothic revival pieces exhibit different stylistic proportions and cleaner mechanical preparation. Comparing the wear patterns and construction methods helps place the piece within its historical century.

Where were these statues originally placed?

Many of these sculptures originated inside churches, private chapels, convents or roadside shrines. Larger figures stood above altars or served as processional objects during religious festivals. Smaller boxwood or ivory carvings were intended for private domestic devotion and bedroom shrines. Architectural fragments like angel wings or putti heads typically adorned larger wooden altarpieces.

What is the difference between plaster and terracotta figures?

Plaster figures are cast in moulds using a gypsum-based plaster mixture, which was common for nineteenth and twentieth-century ecclesiastical production. Terracotta is baked clay, fired in a kiln to create a durable ceramic body. Terracotta pieces generally offer crisper detail and greater weight than plaster alternatives. Both materials frequently received painted or whitewashed surface finishes to mimic stone or marble.