Antique Lourdes Water Container, Early 20th Century, 17x12x8 Centimetres
I love this little water container which was made as a souvenir of a pilgrimage to Lourdes so that the pilgrim could take away some of the water from the grotto. It was clearly much loved and prized by the pilgrim who bought it as, when it sprang a leak at the bottom, he or she had it repaired as you can see from the photo.
I visit Lourdes 2 or 3 times a week but, of course, I se it as it is now. This tin shows how it was just after the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was completed in 1889 and just before it was consecrated in 1901. The reason I am pretty sure about the date is because the image on the side of the can shows The Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception or 'The Upper Basilica' as it is often called, and the Rosary Basilica but on the small column on top of the Rosary Basilica there is no crown and cross as there is today.
It is a beautiful snapshot of a distant time.
On the side is the scene from the grotto with Saint Bernadette praying before the image of Our Lady. Interestingly the statue which is known around the world was created In 1864, the Lyonnais sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabisch was commissioned to create a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes based on Bernadette's descriptions. Although it has become an iconic symbol of Our Lady of Lourdes, it depicts a figure which is not only older and taller than Bernadette's description, but also more in keeping with orthodox and traditional representations of the Virgin Mary. The statue rests in the niche where the Virgin appeared to Bernadette. The original wild rose bush was destroyed shortly after the apparitions by pilgrims seeking relics, but a newer one has been planted nearby. When Saint Bernadette saw the statue she was disappointed that it did not look like her vision.
On the other side of the can is a depiction of the grotto as it was then, including the guard railings that were erected to stop visitors trashing the site. They are no longer there. To the left you can see a large area of crutches. Since 1860, just 2 years after the apparitions, the sick had flocked to Lourdes in search of healing and those that recovered and did not need their crutches anymore placed them on the cliff to the right of the grotto. There were thousands and they had to be regularly replaced.
I have enclosed a photograph taken of a group of New Zealand soldiers who visited the grotto in 1918 and the crutches were still there then.
I love this little water container which was made as a souvenir of a pilgrimage to Lourdes so that the pilgrim could take away some of the water from the grotto. It was clearly much loved and prized by the pilgrim who bought it as, when it sprang a leak at the bottom, he or she had it repaired as you can see from the photo.
I visit Lourdes 2 or 3 times a week but, of course, I se it as it is now. This tin shows how it was just after the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was completed in 1889 and just before it was consecrated in 1901. The reason I am pretty sure about the date is because the image on the side of the can shows The Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception or 'The Upper Basilica' as it is often called, and the Rosary Basilica but on the small column on top of the Rosary Basilica there is no crown and cross as there is today.
It is a beautiful snapshot of a distant time.
On the side is the scene from the grotto with Saint Bernadette praying before the image of Our Lady. Interestingly the statue which is known around the world was created In 1864, the Lyonnais sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabisch was commissioned to create a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes based on Bernadette's descriptions. Although it has become an iconic symbol of Our Lady of Lourdes, it depicts a figure which is not only older and taller than Bernadette's description, but also more in keeping with orthodox and traditional representations of the Virgin Mary. The statue rests in the niche where the Virgin appeared to Bernadette. The original wild rose bush was destroyed shortly after the apparitions by pilgrims seeking relics, but a newer one has been planted nearby. When Saint Bernadette saw the statue she was disappointed that it did not look like her vision.
On the other side of the can is a depiction of the grotto as it was then, including the guard railings that were erected to stop visitors trashing the site. They are no longer there. To the left you can see a large area of crutches. Since 1860, just 2 years after the apparitions, the sick had flocked to Lourdes in search of healing and those that recovered and did not need their crutches anymore placed them on the cliff to the right of the grotto. There were thousands and they had to be regularly replaced.
I have enclosed a photograph taken of a group of New Zealand soldiers who visited the grotto in 1918 and the crutches were still there then.
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