Devotional shrine depicting the “Immaculate Conception.” Italy, 18th century.

Devotional shrine depicting the “Immaculate Conception.” Italy, 18th century.
Wood veneered with violetwood, ebonized and gilded wood, with bone inlays.
The figure of the Immaculate Conception, also from the 18th century, is carved from bone and rests on an architectural base.
It features the coat of arms of the Order of St. Francis.
It has missing decorative elements and areas of damage. It requires restoration.
Measurements: 93 × 41 × 27 cm.

This shrine is an elaborate devotional object conceived as a miniature architectural structure to house and highlight the image of the Immaculate Conception. Its structure employs a Baroque style characterized by marked verticality: fluted columns with gilded capitals frame the glass-enclosed niche, while the pediments, the scalloped dome, and the applied figures—angels and a warrior crowning the ensemble—enrich the stepped profile.

Inside, the Virgin is depicted with her hands joined over her chest and raised above a crescent moon with a cherub’s head, in accordance with the iconography of the Immaculate Conception that spread during the Counter-Reformation. The reflective backgrounds and checkered floor visually magnify the small sculpture and accentuate the theatrical character of the ensemble. The hallmarks of the dark wood, the gilded details, and the light-colored appliqués reflect the sumptuous style of 18th-century Italian domestic cabinets and altars, while its Franciscan provenance is particularly consistent with the order’s historic defense of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.