rosary workshop  - museum - Daniels
18c MEDALLION ROSARY
FROM THE WALTER DANIELS COLLECTION
As pilgrims would travel to holy places such as Jerusalem and Rome, they would collect small medals to remind them of their journey. Often these little holy medals would depict the shrine or basilica visited while others would prefer to collect medals of events in the life of Christ such as his infancy with Mary or his passion and death on the cross.

CONFIGURATION   -   CROSS   -   BEADS    -   MEDALLIONS

These would be attached to their rosary as a constant reminder of not only their pilgrimage - but the life journey that Christ took for each of us.

~ CONFIGURATION ~

This rosary is a strung rosary and may have had 7 decades at one time, considering the count of Pater beads.  It is hard to tell as the strung rosaries would eventually break and beads lost in the process.  Often this caused the owner to restring leaving out one decade if it could not be completed. Sometimes we see restrung rosaries where the beads have been reconfigured, probably because the one who strung it was unaware of the prayed sequence. The identification tag is probably an acquisition tag from a museum collection.

~ CROSS ~

A very simple cross framed in silver hangs from the 'credo cross'.  It appears to be of a special wood which has an insert.  Note that the credo cross is made of 3 pieces - two small finials and a cross bar which have been strung together to form the cross shape.  Above the cross, there are two heart shaped medals.  The larger appears to be an image Mary and the Child Jesus. The crucified Christ and popular saints may also be imaged on the other side and other heart.

~ BEADS ~

6 decades of Ave beds with 7 Pater beads. The Paters were made of silver which was first hammered into thin sheets.  Then the sheets were cut into circles.  Each circle was laid over a concave mold and hammered into molds to form the shape. Then, two were soldered together to form a bead. Finely twisted wires were then soldered to the surface to form traditional designs. The Ave beads appear to be wooden.

~ SMALL MEDALLIONS ~

   Two small silver cast medallions, using cut work are attached next to the Pater beads of the two decades closest to the juncture.  left - Christ carrying his cross, right - the crucified Christ with Mary and John at the base. Small finials probably hung from the bottom of each.

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