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Handpainted Gypsumstone
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This rendition of the
Black Madonna of Montserrat is very similar to the original in facial
characteristics, the golden orb, and the baby. However, the clothing on the real
Madonna of Montserrat is light yellow and gold. Those paint colors are difficult
for our artisans in India to get, so they've improvised on the colors in this
statue.
She was discovered about 50 km
North of Barcelona, inside a cave and up in a mountain called Montserrat and
became the patron saint of Barcelona and particularly the people of Cataluna.
Her festivity is celebrated every April 27th and she is said to have mystic
healing powers, like most of the Black Virgins.
Montserrat means a shorn off
mountain and looking at the sheer cliffs surrounding Montserrat, the name
definitely applies here. Madonna is a beacon of hope and joy to millions of her
worshippers among all faiths. A monastery built near the cave is a favorite
place of pilgrimage.
There are many stories about this
black madonna and the mountain, who many believe to be magic and some say she
guards the holy grail. The statue is kept in a glass cabinet but her right hand
is exposed so that a pilgrim can touch her golden orb and make a prayer or wish.
The Black Virgin of Montserrat's dark
image appears across Europe and is passionately venerated in hundreds of
locales. These ancient black goddesses are the ineradicable face of the chthonic
(dwelling under the earth) Great Goddesses dating from Neolithic times.
Their shrines are often associated with caves, wells or mountains, and her
unvaryingly dark or black skin represents her under-earth or fallow winter
aspect.
This black beauty's shrine at Montserrat, near Barcelona, is very ancient. Rich
and colorful garments underscore her role as a spiritual Mother-Queen of the
Middle Ages.
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