Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos Tin Nicho with Paper Roses

A freestanding devotional nicho in punched and formed tin, built to shelter and honor an image of Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos — one of Mexico's most venerated Marian advocations, whose miraculous corn-paste image resides in the basilica at San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco. The chromolithographed image sits behind glass, the Virgin crowned and cloaked in gilt-embroidered vestments atop a scrolled baroque pedestal. The printed caption reads "Nuestra Señora de San Juan ... venerada en su santuario." A radiant fan-form crest crowns the case, the ridged tin still holding traces of gilding beneath decades of oxidation.

The interior is packed with hand-formed paper-mâché roses in faded rose-pink with green cloth leaves, encircling the central image the way pilgrims heap fresh flowers at a shrine. Glass panels enclose three sides; the steel back panel is removable, and a wire loop at the rear allows wall hanging. Objects of this kind — part reliquary, part folk altar — were made across northern Mexico and the borderland for home devotion, carried across generations of Mesilla Valley and El Paso households. The soft aqua paint, the improvised construction, and the tender floral offering mark this as a piece of genuine popular religious art rather than commercial manufacture.

CONDITION

Good with age-appropriate wear throughout. The left glass panel is absent. The tin shows dings, dents, surface corrosion, paint loss, and oxidation across the crest, frame, and base; the paper roses and cloth leaves are dry and faded consistent with age. The printed image has scattered loss and abrasion. Structurally sound and freestanding.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 16" H × 8 1/4" W × 2 1/2" D
• Weight: 1 lb 7.7 oz
• Construction: Steel/tin, glass panels, removable steel back
• Contents: Paper-mâché roses, cloth leaves, chromolithograph image
• Marks: Unmarked
• Hanging: Rear wire loop; also freestanding