DOI Heft:
Nr. 4
DOI Artikel:Recenzje
DOI Artikel:Sarnecka, Zuzanna: "Madonnas and Miracles": Mounting a Late Medieval and Early Modern Exhibition at the University of Cambridge
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71009#0829
Recenzje
813
8. Display of Agnus Dei. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
© The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
The exhibition addressed other and perhaps less
familiar to contemporary viewer devotional practic-
es such as that of wearing an Agnus Dei pendant.
These discs included wax from the consecrated Pas-
chal candle enclosed in a richly decorated case with
an image ofthe Lamb of God (il. 8).8 To characterise
the religious and cultural significance ofthese small-
scale objects (on average 4-5 cm in diameter), the
display included a large-scale reproduction of a print
by Bartolomeo Faleti showing Pope Pious V conse-
crating wax 'lambs' dated 1567. Moreover, the visi-
tor to the exhibition could watch a video made in
1959 showing Pope John XXIII blessing Agnus Dei
discs. The clip illustrates the Pope dipping discs in
holy water, infused with perfume and the chrism oil.
This pious activity is well documented across the
entire Italian Renaissance society and can be recon-
structed through numerous types of written sources,
8 Irene GALANDRA COOPER, "Silver-gilt Agnus Dei
and Veronica veil 16th/17th Century", [in:] Madonnas and
Miracles..., pp. 130-131.
9 Alessia MENEGHIN, "Fonti per la storia della devozio-
ne popolare nella Marca pontificia (XV-XVI secc.). I re-
gistri dei pegni nelle serie dei Monti di Pietf", Ricerche
storiche, 2017.
10 Riccardo BELCARI, "Un Agnus Dei di Giovanni XXII
e alcuni oggetti di uso personale ed omamento", [in:]
such as inventories, inquisition trials and records of
the so-called Monte di Pieta.9 Agnus Dei functioned
as a powerful protection against evils such as plague
and epilepsy, and was even recommended by Pope
Paul II in 1470 to help women in labour.10
Another devotional or perhaps even superstitious
practice discussed in the exhibition was that of wear-
ing coral. In many Italian Renaissance reliefs and
paintings the Christ Child wears a branch of coral
around his neck. This visual evidence supports the
high quantities of coral found in inventories. In 1472
Nicolo Strozzi, the Florentine banker, bought ninety
pieces of coral for his new born son, Charlo.11 Coral
was believed to operate according to the theory of
sympathetic magic, to ensure protection especially
to young children. Another way of safeguarding the
house and its inhabitants was through the name of
Christ. In the fifteenth century Bernardino da Siena,
Campiglia. Un castello e il suo territorio, ed. G. BIAN-
CHI, Florence, All'insegna del giglio, 2003, vol. 2,
pp. 444-455.
11 Jacqueline MUSACCHIO, "Lambs, Coral, Teeth, and
the Intimate Intersection of Religion and Magic in Rena-
issance Tuscany", [in:] Images, Relics, and Devotional
Practices in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, eds S. J.
CORNELISON, S. B. MONTGOMERY, Tempe, Arizo-
na, 2006, p. 152.
813
8. Display of Agnus Dei. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
© The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
The exhibition addressed other and perhaps less
familiar to contemporary viewer devotional practic-
es such as that of wearing an Agnus Dei pendant.
These discs included wax from the consecrated Pas-
chal candle enclosed in a richly decorated case with
an image ofthe Lamb of God (il. 8).8 To characterise
the religious and cultural significance ofthese small-
scale objects (on average 4-5 cm in diameter), the
display included a large-scale reproduction of a print
by Bartolomeo Faleti showing Pope Pious V conse-
crating wax 'lambs' dated 1567. Moreover, the visi-
tor to the exhibition could watch a video made in
1959 showing Pope John XXIII blessing Agnus Dei
discs. The clip illustrates the Pope dipping discs in
holy water, infused with perfume and the chrism oil.
This pious activity is well documented across the
entire Italian Renaissance society and can be recon-
structed through numerous types of written sources,
8 Irene GALANDRA COOPER, "Silver-gilt Agnus Dei
and Veronica veil 16th/17th Century", [in:] Madonnas and
Miracles..., pp. 130-131.
9 Alessia MENEGHIN, "Fonti per la storia della devozio-
ne popolare nella Marca pontificia (XV-XVI secc.). I re-
gistri dei pegni nelle serie dei Monti di Pietf", Ricerche
storiche, 2017.
10 Riccardo BELCARI, "Un Agnus Dei di Giovanni XXII
e alcuni oggetti di uso personale ed omamento", [in:]
such as inventories, inquisition trials and records of
the so-called Monte di Pieta.9 Agnus Dei functioned
as a powerful protection against evils such as plague
and epilepsy, and was even recommended by Pope
Paul II in 1470 to help women in labour.10
Another devotional or perhaps even superstitious
practice discussed in the exhibition was that of wear-
ing coral. In many Italian Renaissance reliefs and
paintings the Christ Child wears a branch of coral
around his neck. This visual evidence supports the
high quantities of coral found in inventories. In 1472
Nicolo Strozzi, the Florentine banker, bought ninety
pieces of coral for his new born son, Charlo.11 Coral
was believed to operate according to the theory of
sympathetic magic, to ensure protection especially
to young children. Another way of safeguarding the
house and its inhabitants was through the name of
Christ. In the fifteenth century Bernardino da Siena,
Campiglia. Un castello e il suo territorio, ed. G. BIAN-
CHI, Florence, All'insegna del giglio, 2003, vol. 2,
pp. 444-455.
11 Jacqueline MUSACCHIO, "Lambs, Coral, Teeth, and
the Intimate Intersection of Religion and Magic in Rena-
issance Tuscany", [in:] Images, Relics, and Devotional
Practices in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, eds S. J.
CORNELISON, S. B. MONTGOMERY, Tempe, Arizo-
na, 2006, p. 152.