Statues - Hither & Thither

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Boston
Lincolnshire
East Midlands

South Street
(St. Mary's Boston Guildhall)

The Virgin Mary

The mother of Jesus Christ
(Wikipedia)

Claire Curneen
2006

Description

Terracotta statue of a woman with a golden model of St. Botolph Church in her hands, standing in front of a tree with a winged putto at her feet. The statue is placed in a niche on the front of St Mary's Guildhall.

Annotation

The artist writes about her design:

It was a response St. Mary's Guildhall, Boston, and was made specifically for the empty niche on the west façade of the Guildhall. In my work, I produce ceramic figures which embody an emotional tension or uncertainty, where part of the emotion is introduced with reference to Christian imagery. The tension is achieved through combining certain abstractions of human form and shape with aspects of Christian symbols. The tension which this commission allowed was that created by locating a contemporary ceramic work in the niche of a thirteenth century guildhall. I based the composition on the Madonna and child relationship, since it was likely that the original figure in the niche was a Madonna and child. Its installation at approximately 4 metres above eye level gave it an imposing character. Further tensions within the figure were created between its terracotta colour and details picked out in gold lustre, such as the petals on the flowers offered by the child, and a small sculpture (held by the Madonna) of St. Boltolph's Church, in the vicinity of the Guildhall.

Depictions of Saint Mary

Saint Mary, as the mother of Jesus Christ, has a central role in the life of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic veneration of her as the Blessed Virgin Mary has grown over time both in importance and manifestation, not only in prayer but in art, poetry and music. She is usually depicted as a beautiful young woman, with a (blue) mantle. In the majority of the depictions she is having the Infant Jesus in her arms or on her lap.
Attributes of Saint Mary:

A crown of 12 stars (Relevation 12:1), sometimes 7 stars.
A royal crown, sometimes also a scepter: Mary Queen of Heaven.
Standing on a globe.
Standing on the crescent moon (Relevation 12:1).
Crushing the serpent (sometimes a dragon) under her feet. The serpent can have an apple in his mouth (Genesis 3:15). A special depiction is where Jesus impales the serpent with a spear-cross.
Flowers: Lily (symbol of virginity and purity), roses (Mary's mystical participation in the Holy Trinity as Heaven's Rose or Mystical Rose), iris or "Sword Lily" (emblem of Our Lady's Seven Sorrows), fleur-de-lis (resembling both the Iris and the Madonna Lily)

The Infant Jesus sometimes has some attributes too:

a crown and/or a royal orb (usually in combination with Mary as Queen of Heaven)
making a blessing gesture

Sculptor

Claire Curneen (Ireland 1968), Irish-British figurative ceramist (Website).

Sources & Information

Culture 24, News in Brief - Week Ending December 17 2006.
DSpace at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Guild Figure.

Locatie (N 52°58'33" - W 0°1'23") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: gbem030; Photograph: 1 August 2012
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
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© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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