THE IMAGES
Our Mrs. of Escardiel:
In the central Niche of the altar of the Hermitage and giving names to the same one, he/she is the Worshipped Image of Our Mrs. Snta María of Escardiel, Image to the one that is consecrated the Sierra of Castilblanco and protector of this Villa. The Head, the Bust and the Hands are carried out in oak wood, their base conformed by a candlestick to be able to be dressed being. For professor Hernández Díaz: " The Image of Our Mrs. of Escardiel, regular of the Hermitage of this invocation, it is of candlestick and so much ingenuousness of modeling that at first sight it is seen that it is old work" (16).
In this same year the trbajos of restoration of so worshipped image has been made with the approval of the Andalusian Institute of Historical Patrimony. In this works, under the direction of Don José María Count Carranco licensed in restoration, those have been suppressed added that they existed in the bust of the size, leaving the primitive configuration of the body. Equally they have been made you taste of policromía in bust, neck, face and hands, being discovered until 17 layers different from policromía. Equally it has been robbed to the size of how many metallic elements it contained in their interior. In this author's opinion, it is a typical Gothic image, of the style denominated fernandino or alfonsino, of academic height and fechable toward the XIII century, although very reformed later on, fundamentally in the XVII century in the one that their original size was mutilated to endow it of the candlestick and to dress her to the pleasure of the time.
Equally in the XVII century he/she was carried out the Niño Jesus' current size that the Virgin sustains among her arms, attributable for this author to Juan of Table, carried out in a lead casting and being this figure in attitude of blessing.
Sacred Christ of the Jeans
In the left wall of the presbytery the Image of the Sacred Christ of the Jeans, the cattlemen's of the district boss is worshipped. It is the famous sculptor's Christ crucified work and imaginero utrerano Francisco Antonio Gijón that carried out it in the year of 1677, according to the contract granted before the notary Vicente of Aguiar (17). The Image that possesses the typical characteristics of this author's work, measures five fourth and half and it is carried out in cedar wood; literally in the contract it is expressed that the Image is carried out for the Brotherhood of Our Mrs. Descardiel that is where the Sacred Crucifix must be put in its church-hermita questta in I finish destta village."
Crucified Christ
At the end of the left wall of the central ship, the size of Crucified Christ, modern, is conserved carried out by sculptor Manuel Dominguez Rodríguez in 1984 that was worshipped instead of the Sacred Christ of the Jeans during the time in that this Image was sustraída of the Hermitage and until the present year of 1996 in that you proceeded to its refund.
16 work mentioned in the note 1
17 Provincial Historical file of Seville, Section Notarial Protocols, File 2.837 PB.
