The sculpture represents the Child Christ as the Savior of the World. The figure probably carries a standard on his left hand, now missing, and blesses the viewer with his right hand. It shows great sensitivity to anatomical details, with the swelling curvature and baby fat of the body convincingly rendered. The carving of the face, heavy eye lids, and body follows stylistic conventions of Filipino art of the seventeenth century. The entire figure (excluding the arms) is carved from a single tusk of elephant ivory. This type of image was admired and made in Portugal and Spain, as well as in the Asian territories under their influence. From the sixteenth century onward, ivory sculptures of Christian subjects were one of the most common artistic good made in Asia for export to Europe.
