This baby Jesus of Prague has been in our family for a long time. Our family is originally from Ecuador, but the statue dates back to a period of time during the Spanish colonial period from 1542-1824. It is especially associated with the 17th and 18th centuries during a time that artists in Ecuador exclusively focused on the religious art of the Catholic Church in the country. The statue is consistent with the sculptures during this time which consisted of major religious works and characterized by polychromed wood sculptures in an elegant Spanish Baroque style. We can trace the statue within our family to our great-great-grandfather who obtained the statue for his private chapel. The statue was passed down and eventually was given to my mother and its sentimental value was tremendous. Yet, like many immigrants who are forced to leave behind their prized possessions, in 1987 my mother not only left the statue behind, but she was forced to also leave my sister and me behind while she attempted to make a living in the US. Leaving the statue behind was a major blow to my mother. The statue had been through a fire and some vandalism while under someone's else care. It wasn't until last year, 2014 that we were able to bring the statue to the US. After so many years the statue was back home and a prominent art professor at NYU informed us that it would be her privilege restore the statue at no cost to our family. The restoration will take place in 2016.

– Xavier Medina

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