Posted 6 years ago
betweenthe…
(70 items)
I purchased this French Black Madonna and Christ Child reliquary from the Netherlands. It is circa 1800s and comprised of meerschaum.
The history of Black Madonnas is intensely interesting and quite fascinating. The early Black Madonnas were said to have black skin from centuries of smoke and incense soot. Still, some Black Madonnas were made with black skin, and one can only wonder at the archetypal significance of this, which would go beyond the mere physical portrayals of the Madonna and Christ Child with black skin.
I believe my Black Madonna and Christ Child were purposely portrayed as having black skin and not a result of hundreds of years of soot.
Thank you for looking!
~Laura
Thank you for the love, aura!
Thank you for the love, Caperkid!
A great piece of history. I would love to know where it originated. The Western bent for making religious figures white is historically inaccurate, and although Mary was probably not black, this is as reasonable as any other depiction. It's fascinating!
I love this BTLENS! I have never seen anything like this before!.........so interesting, thanks for posting:-) )
Thank you so much, racer4four and TassieDevil! Much, much appreciated. I found this site that may be of interest: http://interfaithmary.net/locations/
I also wish I knew more about its provenance other than it came from France. Maybe perusing the above site will give me more of an idea. There is one Black Madonna who is one of my absolute favorites, and that is the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln.
Thank you for the love, fortapache!
Thank you for the love, officialfuel and Manikin.
Thank you for the love, Phil!
Thank you for the love, buckethead and Ken. Ken, it has a bail on which to hang it, but it could very well have hung at an altar, I'm thinking. The seller said it's circa 1800s and French. I love contemplating where it's been and who owned it.
Laura,
This is the first Black Madonna I've ever seen. The piece, along with the incredible history, is absolutely fascinating. I absolutely love items such as this. A very close friend of mine collects religious items and has even turned an old Catholic church into a museum of old religious articles. Great post!
Thank you for the love, valentino97 and Scott. Scott, I am so glad you enjoyed the post. I've known about the Black Madonnas for a while, having a long-standing interest in archetypes and their significance in cultures. The church-turned-museum sounds wonderful, and I'll bet it's full of mysteries.
Thank you for the love, vetraio50.
Thanks so much for the love, Eileen and Sean!
Google: Black Madonna of Czestochowa, for some info!