Q
& A
 K.H.
of St. Lawerence, Newfoundland writes:
I
was wondering if you could give me some information about
an antique I have. It's at least 120 years old and it belonged to my great
grandfather who passed it on to my grandfather, then to my father, and
now to me. It’s a religious antique and there is a wonderful stained
glass statue of Mary holding Jesus. On the bottom there is a picture of
the last supper which can open up. There inside is a cross with two candle
holders, which can be placed on each side. It's in excellent condition,
and I wanted to know if it was worth anything or where I can find some
information about it.
We
asked Kevin Colgan to respond:
This is a votive shrine for private devotions.
I would think it is made for Roman Catholics; the prominence of the Virgin
Mary in general and this Pieta-type image, n particular, has a definite
flavour of Rome to it
The
box appears to be refinished oak, the candle sconces and brackets seem
to be some kind of patina or painted white metal. If they are brass they
will be brass coloured when  discreetly
filed, ideally on the back of the brackets. The image is, of course, a
famous one in Western art. It seems to be sculpted in relief, presumably
in plaster. It could be simply Italian or, equally as likely, made in
North America in the Italian style. The box, crucifix and candleholders
are, in my view, of North American. The style of the lettering seems to
me to suggest the late 19th century. "Blessed be the Holy Name"
is very redolent of my own time with the Brothers at school.
It
is an interesting object and evokes a whole lost world. Devotional items
do catastrophically at auction. I would suggest less than $100 as a sale
price and say $300 for replacement. As a footnote, and to show that there
is always a way, I should mention a friend of mine who for some years
made a living out of buying statuary, crosses and general Ecclesiastical
bits and pieces and selling them on the net. Although the market here
has moved away from all this, in the communities of Italians and Hispanics
in the U.S. there is still interest in these items.
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