Statue of St. Mary, crowned and with sceptre, with the crowned Infant Jesus with an orb. Mary stands on a starry globe with the serpent, with originally impaled by Jesus with a cross-staff (now gone).
Annotation
The statue was in 1959 replaced by a wooden copy made by Leopold Van Esbroeck; which in turn was replaced in 1992 by a polyester copy made by Mariette Coppens (Van Esbroeck's wife). The original statue was added to the collection of the Museum Vleeshuis and is now lost.
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
Sculptors
Mariette Coppens (Antwerpen 1931),
Belgian sculptress, wife of the sculptor Pol Van Esbroeck (1911-2010).
Jacob Jozef Van der Neer (Antwerpen 1718-1794),
Flemish sculptor
(RKD database).
Sources & Information
Wim Strecker et al., Madonna en heiligenbeelden in de Antwerpse binnenstad (Antwerpen: Voor Kruis en Beeld vzw/BAI, 2010), nr. 39 (zie ook Website).
