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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Statuary in a Glass Case
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
I know this isn't strictly speaking an Eccles subject but one of my students has been asking me if there is a specific word in English for the glass cases in which statues of the BVM or other saints stand and I thought the quickest place to get an answer would be here - I have no idea of the answer and would be pathetically grateful for any help given.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
You mean like this. OK I knew these existed from my one and only visit to Lourdes.
They are the exception rather than the rule. The Virgin Mary is in Holy Water. I have no idea why!
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Triple Tiara
Ship's Papabile
# 9556
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Posted
More likely like this.
It's a particular stylistic taste, not confined to religious items, and quite beloved of the Victorians, the French and Filippinos. All sorts of trinkets come in such domes, such as these or this French wedding dome.
Purpose: to keep the dust out.
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I'm a Roman. You may call me Caligula.
Posts: 5905 | From: London, England | Registered: May 2005
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Quam Dilecta
Shipmate
# 12541
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Posted
Vitrine, the French word for a glass case, has been borrowed by English speakers, and it somehow seems to be an appropriate term for these items. In the case of statues with silk robes, a glass enclosure offers some protection from sunlight and dust. The most dramatic instances of this practice are the altars where a saints' embalmed body is displayed behind glass.
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Blessd are they that dwell in thy house
Posts: 406 | From: Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Registered: Apr 2007
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The Silent Acolyte
Shipmate
# 1158
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Posted
Ooooooo. Good catch, that, Quam Dilecta. We certainly knew you were clever. Now that you remind me of this word, I recall that it is frequently used of glass display cases in museums, too.
Posts: 7462 | From: The New World | Registered: Aug 2001
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Lietuvos Sv. Kazimieras
Shipmate
# 11274
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Posted
I failed to locate a photo of it, but at least back in the mid-1970s, the Basilica of Santa Teresa in Caracas, Venezuela had a wax effigy of the head/face of Christ in Agony set in the narthex -- it was more in a glass box than in a typical vitrine.
In the early 1980s I recall an Episcopal parish church in Baltimore - otherwise quite traditional in appearances - that had the MBS reserved in what appeared to be a square,clear plastic box on, IIRC, a side altar.
Posts: 7328 | From: Delaware | Registered: Apr 2006
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Pancho
Shipmate
# 13533
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Posted
I don't know of a specific word for it in English, but we have a couple of statues under glass at my parish.
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
The only word i can think of is 'weird' or, perhaps, 'twee'.
Actually, there are several practical reasons for keeping statues in a glass case.
It keeps them in good condition if they're physically venerated (We have an exposed statue of St. Anthony whose paint on it's foot was worn away from all the veneration). It discourages ne'er-do-wells from walking away with statues ( there are reports of churches in Latin America who have their images stolen to be sold on the antiques' black market). It keeps them clean in dusty old churches. It helps keep them from getting knocked over by jostling crowds. If they're taken out in procession it protects them from the elements. There could be other reasons, too.
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“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’"
Posts: 1988 | From: Alta California | Registered: Mar 2008
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
All of those reasons make sense in India, pancho. Especially when it comes to statues of S. Anthony who is venerated by both the Christians and the Hindus.
We won't even start on Our Lady of Velankanni.
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Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
Wanted to add that we are not talking of statues of the type in TT's first link. Ours are extra-life size and are stood in a vertical coffin. It occurs to me that one of the functions of these is to hide the altar servers and their antics from view. Though when they are actually serving,their pious attitudes, nicely synchronised, are a joy to behold.
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Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Thanks to all - I shall offer the word Vitrine and feel I have done my bit.
Triple Tiara, some of those items you linked to were positively,er, interesting.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Sorry, thanks to the Eccles Hosts for permitting this little digression - please feel free to close this whenever you wish.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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seasick
...over the edge
# 48
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Posted
Thank you all very much.
seasick, Eccles host
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We believe there is, and always was, in every Christian Church, ... an outward priesthood, ordained by Jesus Christ, and an outward sacrifice offered therein. - John Wesley
Posts: 5769 | From: A world of my own | Registered: May 2001
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