Virgin of Carmel 27 cm

Italian ceramic panel depicting the Virgin of Carmel hand-painted and in relief.

The image presents two details typical of the iconography of Our Lady of Mount Carmel:

• the sacred scapular (the two rectangular pieces of wool joined by a string that we see on Mary’s hand), according to tradition given by the Virgin to the prior general of the Carmelite order, Simone Stock, with the promise of freeing those who wear it from the pains of Purgatory;
• the star on the shoulder, a symbol of purity and beauty that recalls the meaning of the name Mary (“stella maris”, meaning “drop of the sea”).

Virgin of Carmel refers to the Virgin venerated on Mount Carmel (the mountain range of Upper Galilee, in Israel) to whom the first friars built and dedicated their first church, placing themselves under her protection. In Italy she is venerated especially in the south, Campania and Sicily first and foremost, but there are sanctuaries throughout Italy: there are many in Tuscany and Liguria, and some are also found in Emilia-Romagna and Friuli.

Dimensions of the Virgin of Carmel: height 27 cm; width 23 cm; thickness 3 cm.
The ceramic is designed for wall mounting.