Monday, December 24, 2012

THE HOLY INFANT



Almost twenty years ago, I noticed a pretty religious statue at a flea market.  It was the face that drew me in.  I thought that the little child figure looked like it needed to come home with me. 

A while later,  I was at a garage sale, and the little child figure there needed to come home with me, too.  My best friend, who knows a lot about saints and many things religious, told me that the little statue was The Holy Infant of Prague. 

A short time later, there was another Holy Infant of Prague statue at the thrift store.  This one looked very old and lovely.  He was definitely on his way home with me.


A couple of months later, at a yard sale, I found another Holy Infant of Prague. This one was slightly different in style and looked newer than the last one, but definitely still pretty old. By now, I thought my Holy Infant team could use one more.  So he came home with me. 

More months passed, and I found myself at a different thrift store, and guess who was waiting for me?  Another Holy Infant Statue.  A little smaller that the others. Before I touched him, he almost looked like he was made of ivory.  I picked him up and he was made of plastic, very tastefully, however.  Maybe he is for a car dashboard?  So inexpensively priced, but so lovely.He came home to join the others on the bookshelf.


Then at an estate sale I found a BIG Holy Infant of Prague planter. I almost didn't bring him home with me, because he wouldn't fit on my special Holy Infant shelf, as it has come to be called.  But as I started to leave, I turned around and bought him. He, too, was very inexpensive. I do hope that he has never held funeral flowers, though.


A while later I was going through a bunch of hardware and interesting looking odds and ends in a box at another garage sale and I found a very small brass Holy Infant that had been painted. He was really different than the others, and was happy that I had rescued him from the box of hardware stuff.   He's so small, wouldn't take up much room, and he was too interesting to leave there. So home he came.


I will never know why there were so many of these little (and big) holy statues in so many different places for me to find during that period of time.  Even showing up in old boxes of hardware.  I don't recall even being aware of the existence of the Holy Infant of Prague before that time.  They seem to be from several eras, and several different materials.  Each one different from the other. 

Another unusual thing happened during that time.  The minister of the very small non-denominational church I attended at that time had seen my little folk art Santas and the creatures I make to go with them.  One Sunday after church, she asked me  if I thought that I might be able to repair the hand on her little Holy Infant.  I told her that I could try, but didn't know what the results would be.  I don't work in ceramics, but wood, papier mache, and air dry clay. She said, "Oh, would you mind just giving it a try?"  She had no way of knowing about my Holy Infant of Prague collection. I had never mentioned it.   It turned out that the air dry clay I used matched the ceramics of the hand of her Holy Infant perfectly.  The results were very good.  A dear friend of hers had given the little statue to her years before and it had been broken at some point.  I told her to be careful with the repaired hand, as it was just a type of air dry clay.  She seemed so happy to have her little statue with two hands again. 

I am neither Catholic,  nor of Czechoslovakian descent, so I still do not know why I have such an affinity for Holy Infant of Prague religious statuary. But I do.  Oddly enough, I haven't seen one in any resale venues for years now (except on etsy).  I guess I have rescued all that I was supposed to.  I suppose I need to leave some out there for others to discover. Has anyone else out there felt themselves inexplicably discovering and repeatedly being drawn to anything unusal at resales?

A little historical background "The original statue was carved from wood and covered with wax". It is 18 inches tall and is in the Church of our Lady of Victory in Prague Czechoslovakia, where it has been since 1628.  "It represents the Holy Childhood of Jesus."

I hope you liked seeing my little collection of Holy Infant of Prague statues.  I thought it " 'TIS THE SEASON" to show everyone this little collection.

 
Merry Christmas!

7 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas to you and yours friend...love those precious little statues and the cute old bear and other toys in your previous post...old toys tug at my heartstrings :) Blessings

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  2. Nice collection!! Merry Christmas.
    Hugs Vicky

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  3. Hi Susie, I adore your Holy infant collections, and enjoyed reading of how you found them! They are beautiful! Thank you for sharing.I am a collector of a few things too.

    Wishing you a very blessed and Happy NewYear, thank you for visiting me.
    Blessings,
    Sue

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  4. Isn't that funny how we are drawn to objects...and once you find one, you just find more and more of them?
    I loved this story and seeing your collection...thanks for showing it. thanks for visiting me at Corn!
    Now, off to visit your shop! Pat

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  5. Your stories about how you have collected these statues is really interesting. I think it is a really pretty collection you have on your shelf. I am not Catholic either, but the child Jesus seems appropriate for this Christmas time post. They must belong with you since they found their way to you!!
    Happy New Year!
    Susie

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  6. Very interest post. It is wonderful to hear how you were drawn to their little faces. Your collection is beautiful. I am not Catholic either, however I can appreciate their beauty. Happy New year from your newest follower, Linda

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  7. I love that story. It seems that you were meant to find those during that time in your life. It's neat that they all have different looks to them, but all have the same hand gestures and objects in their hands.

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