Artist: Unattributed Title: ‘Rosary’ Date: c.1500-1525 Location: Germany Materials: Ivory, silver and partially gilded mounts Overall Dimensions: 62.7 x 5.4 x 5.0 cm (24 11/16 x 2 1/8 x 1 15/16 in.) Rights/Image Permissions: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, Public Domain, 17.190.306
A rosary is a string of knots or beads used to count the prayers as one prays the ‘Holy Rosary’ (a set of prayers used in the Catholic Church). The top terminal serves a similar purpose as the Crucifix on a modern day rosary. When praying, one would make the sign of the cross and pray Psalms 51 and 70 followed by the Apostle’s Creed on this terminal. The second bead was used to cite the Lord’s Prayer, three Hail Marys (one each for the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity), a Glory Be, and the “Fátima Prayer”. The third through the seventh beads represent the five decades, which included: one lord’s Prayer, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be, some also choose to conclude with the “Fátima Prayer”. Each of the Hail Marys would be counted using the smaller beads woven around the outside of each large bead. Finally, on the bottom terminal the Salve Regina, Loreto Litany, intentions, and the sign of the cross would be recited.
Each terminal is a graphic carving of a half-emaciated skull, split down the middle of the face. The beads however show busts of well fed men and women on one side, likely people from the bourgeoisie class, and their skeletons on the other half. On the skeletal half of each bead is a gruesome Latin phrase. One of these phrases can be seen in the image, on the 6th bead. It reads: “SUM QUOD ERIS”, which translates to “I am what you will be.” This rosary was likely commissioned as a memento mori, which translates to “remember that you die.” Many memento mori were kept at this time as a reminder that death in inevitable. This in combination with a rosary suggests that this piece served to remind the owner that life is short, but living a faithful Christian life is the key to salvation.
It was common in early fifteenth-century Germany to own an intricately designed rosary to aid in private prayer and meditation. This was the result of German craftsmen training with Parisian carvers and bringing the craft home to places like Cologne and Rhine Valley, where ivory carving was flourishing. Carved rosaries were usually sold to women as women often did not participate in or were excluded from other practices within the church such as penitential flagellation. It is possible that these beads were carved out of walrus ivory from the Svalbard Archipelago as the practice of hunting the Arctic European walrus was becoming popular at this time. However, it is more likely that this piece was carved from elephant ivory imported from Africa. It was rare that rosaries were carved from ivory. It was more affordable for pieces like this to be carved from bone or boxwood.
Sources: Ball, A. (2003). Rosary. In Encyclopedia of Catholic devotions and practices. Our Sunday Visitor. Barnet, P. (1997). Images in Ivory: Precious objects of the gothic age. Detroit Institute of arts. Cross, F. L., & Livingstone, E. A. (2005). In The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (p. 1427). essay, Oxford University Press. Lelong, L. F. B. (n.d.). Catalogue des objets d'art et de haute curiosite de l'antiquite du moyen-age et de la renaissance ... Dependant des collections de Mme. C. Lelong, et dont la vente, Par Suite De Son Deces, Aura Lieu a Paris galerie Georges Petit ... 8 ... 9 et ... 10 decembre, 1902 ... Commissaire-Priseur: M. Paul Chevallier. Catalogue des objets d'art et de haute curiosite de l'antiquite du moyen-age et de la renaissance ... dependant des collections de mme. C. Lelong, et dont la vente, par suite de son deces, aura lieu a Paris Galerie Georges Petit ... 8 ... 9 et ... 10 decembre, 1902 ... Commissaire-priseur: m. Paul Chevallier. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2804658.html Star, B., Barrett, J. H., Gondek, A. T., & Boessenkool, S. (2018). Ancient DNA reveals the chronology of Walrus ivory trade from Norse Greenland. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1884), 20180978. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.0978 Weber, F. P. (n.d.). Aspects of death and correlated aspects of life in art, epigram, and poetry : Contributions towards an anthology and an iconography of the subject : Illustrated especially by medals, engraved gems, Jewels, Ivories, Antique Pottery, & c. Aspects of death and correlated aspects of life in art, epigram, and poetry : contributions towards an anthology and an iconography of the subject : illustrated especially by medals, engraved gems, jewels, ivories, antique pottery, & c. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from http://books.google.com/books?id=HL40AQAAMAAJ
Author Bio: Abigail Lenssen is a junior at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Abigail is a part of the preprofessional medicine program and is currently pursuing a BA in Biology.