Statues - Hither & Thither

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Praha
Hlavní mĕsto

Karlova 3
(Hotel U Zlaté Studny)

Barokní reliéf se svĕtci

Baroque relief with saints

Jan Oldřich Mayer
1701

Description

House front façade richly decorated with Baroque sculptural reliefs.

In the center a gilded medallion with Our Lady and infant Jesus in eight-pointed star. Above the star is a pair of angels bearing crown and under it is a pair of lions.
Left and right of the medallion:
- Sv. Václav - (c. 907 - 935), duke of Bohemia, raised as Christian by his grandmother, Saint Ludmila. He was murdered in 935 on his way to church. Patron saint of the Czech people and the Czech Republic (Wikipedia).
- Sv. Jan Nepomucký - (Nepomuk c. 1345 - Praha 1393), confessor of the queen of Bohemia, refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. At the behest of King Wenceslaus of Bohemia he was thrown from the Charles Bridge in Prague and drowned. John of Nepomuk is patron saint of bridges (Wikipedia)
On the first floor:
- Sv. Šebastián - (died c. 288), martyr, killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians (Wikipedia).
- Sv. Roch z Montpellieru - (14th century), saint from Montpellier, he is specially invoked against the plague. (Wikipedia).
On the third floor:
- Sv. Ignác z Loyoly - (1491-1556), Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General (Wikipedia).
- Sv. Karel Boromejský - (Italian: Carlo Borromeo) (1538 - 1584), cardinal, worked during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church (Wikipedia).
Above the window on the third floor: laying Sv. Rozálie - (1130-1166), also called La Santuzza or "The Little Saint", revered as a protector against infectious diseases (Wikipedia).

Sv. Ignác z Loyoly
St. Ignatius of Loyola

Sv. Rozálie
St. Rosalia

Sv. Karel Boromejský
St. Charles Borromeo

Sv. Šebastián
St. Sebastian

Sv. Václav
St. Wenceslas

Panna Maria a Jezulátko
Our Lady and infant Jesus

Sv. Jan Nepomucký
St. John of Nepomuk

Sv. Roch
St. Rochus

Annotation

The stucco figures of saints are an expression of gratitude of the former owner of the house that his family was spared from the plague (therefore St. Rosalia and St. Roch).

Sculptor

Jan Oldřich Mayer (Grafenflug, Austria, prob. 1666 - Praha 1721), Prague Baroque wood-carver and sculptor of Austrian origin

Sources & Information

Královská cesta, Old Town I.
Waymarking.com, Baroque Reliefs at House At the Golden Well / Dum U zlaté studny (Prague).
Saxa Loquuntur, Sv. Jan Nepomucký: Svatojánské sochy v ceských a moravských krajských mestech.

Locatie (N 50°5'10" - E 14°25'0") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: czpr019; Photograph: 18 February 2011
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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