Complex sentence: It is suggested the similarity comes from the conquest and colonization of the Philippines by Spain during the 16th century, when Asian cultures influenced engravings of the Virgin Mary, as evidenced for example in an ivory carving of the Virgin Mary by a Chinese carver.
Split into simpler sentences: It is suggested the similarity comes from the conquest and colonization of the Philippines by Spain during the 16th century, when Asian cultures influenced engravings of the Virgin Mary. Evident by this ivory carving of the Virgin Mary by a Chinese carver.