MARY'S CHILD

Alongside the well-known adoration of the divine child Jesus, an adoration which has been spreading since the Middle Ages, we can also find the cult of Mary’s child which has been manifesting itself mostly in Northern Italy and there again in particular in Lombardy.

According to the ideas of Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564-1631) we are talking about the representation of a female baby child which has been put in nappies and is surrounded by angels.

Due to the very limited area of distribution these statues of Mary’s child are very rare. As far as one knows these figures were mainly given to girls who entered a convent or to young brides as a symbol of fertility.

In a showcase in Hiky Mayr’s collection we can admire seven impressive examples, two of them are particularly valuable.

MARY'S CHILD