Very Old Antique Hand Carved Mary Holding Baby Jesus Signed "Villa Luis"

I've had this carving about maybe 25 years,signed "Villa Luis" no date.I got this out of an old storage auction.I had a friend who looked at it once and told me I need to get it appraised.Well she passed and I had no one to help.Now I'm trying to find out some kind of information.My friend when she was living told me to don't sell it if possible cheap.So any idea

 

Are you sure that's wood and not cast? I ask because the grain goes a different direction on the back then it does on the front. Not that old, 1970s perhaps. "Villa Luis" doesn't make much sense although Villa is a surname and Luis a first. But reversed not a common usage in Spanish-speaking countries.

Debora

 

Yes 100% wood.

 

the grain goes a different direction on the back then it does on the front.

that does look odd , doesn't it !!

the back of the halo seems to have 2 different colors around the rim....

2 boards glued together???

 

It’s an intriguing thing all together. It also doesn’t scream ‘very old antique’ to me (but then again what do I know) It will be good to learn more at the piece..

 

Yessir, Komo

 

Ditto. It is the kind of Madonna image I used to see a lot in Italy, although I have seen her here in Dutch shops of religious items too.

 

Doesn't look very old to me either.

 

Good eyes, Sabre!

 

SabreCat's got the laser orbs-nice !

 

The eyes seem to work once in a blue moon, gents

 

Villa means house so I'd say it was from someplace called Villa Luis - a gift shop perhaps? It depends on what you mean by "very old" because those of us of a certain age are thinking pre-1900 and someone else might mean 1970. The name isn't carved in, it's stamped so I'd give it 1970s-90s agewise.

 

Could be a shop called Villa Luis. Not a typical shop name but anything possible. Tootled around the internet but didn't find (which doesn't mean anything.) If so, I'd think Spanish rather than Latin American.

Debora

 

Not stamped, it's carved in the wood.

 

You can use a stamp on wood. It's quite common and the letters are too uniform to be hand carved. I'm convinced it's a stamp and it's circa 1970s to 90s. Probably from Mexico. I've enlarged that portion of the piece. You can see that where the carving is rounded the end of the name Luis didn't sink into the wood. If it was hand carved letters it would have been. The stamp was flat and didn't sink in at the end.

 

Agree. Here's something similar. I'd think European, Italian and/or Spanish.

https://www.ebay.ph/itm/204078278407

Debora