At last...

This image is only significant in that it was taken with my camera in my house with my lights using my (ahem) studio. I've finally got the lighting kinks worked out and now have the ability to take decent photos of my own instead of using other auction houses archives (as beautiful though they are).

AND this rosary arrived today from Belgium. It seemed like the perfect subject for a challenging white on black photo test. Looks good. It's a nice rosary too. I took a second test image with another difficult rosary to photograph, my large "solemnity rosary" that I'd previously been unable to take a decent picture of due to glare.

Ahhh! Mother of Pearl

Here is a simple old mother of pearl rosary that's been embellished by a large number of old silver medals. There isn't much to do other than enjoy a rosary like this. Mother of Pearl beads feel like silk in your hands and old silver is often worn smooth by constant use so even though I haven't ever touched this rosary, I've touched rosaries like it and they are wonderful.

The medals, from left to right: a sacred heart of Jesus medal, Our Lady of Fatima (see Jan 27th's entry for more information on Our Lady of Fatima), an Our Lady of the Immaculate Medal, a medal based upon an Icon of Mary with the child Jesus, and and Immaculate Heart of Mary medal. The center medal shows St. Bernadette who had an apparition of the Blessed Mother at Lourdes and there is a second framed Sacred Heart of Jesus medal on the drop.

Gloria Rosaries: Wonderful Works of Art

Here are two versions of a similar rosary assembly made by Gloria on two different rosaries. Gloria rosaries are fairly common and very popular among collectors in the US and Canada. They offer some of the richest and most beautiful styles; definitely the type of rosaries that would be given at weddings, first communions, baptism, and other special occasions. I am always excited when I find a Gloria rosary.


Here is the assembly of both rosaries viewed from the back. You can see they have been hallmarked by both the "Gloria" makers Mark as well as the "Sterling"mark (though the purity of the silver is not designated). Both of these rosaries have the same the same center medal and very similar crucifixes. Though the center medals are clearly identical, they are not marked the same and the crucifix on the black rosary has a second hallmark on it. It makes me think that they are made by hand and not cast as part of some factory process. Note that the rounded crucifix on the black beaded rosary does NOT have the nails on the back of it so it is common, but not always necessary.
Gloria rosaries also have stamped tags on them though it is very rare to find a rosary with the tag included. You can also see in this picture that the rosary his been restored. Though the silver assembly are orginal, and perhaps the beads, there is clearly a brand new set of chains and links on this black beaded rosary. The red beaded rosary looks as though it is all original assembly, beads, and chains. The medals, as always, are added after the fact.

Bohemian Art Glass

At last we see a rosary that I own. I fell in love with the beads on this one as much of the assembly is new or restored (as in not part of the orginal vintage piece). The beads were pristine though and well, they are really cool beads.

There are some amazing art glass rosaries floating around and I will try to find more pictures of them because they can be really gorgeous. These beads have a black glass core surrounded by clear faceted crystal. The beads are pyramidal in shape which means that they are "strung" symmetrically in two directions (you can see it at the center medal, the long side always points down). In the middle of the third decade of the rosary, two of the "fat sides" face each other.

The center medal is a Miraculous Medal (which is uncommon) and the crucifix deserves mention in that it's shape is what's known as a "budded cross". The "trefoil ends" on the budded cross represent the trinity. It's a very common shape in Catholicism and often seen atop any kind of Christian standard or flagpole. The two medals on either side are a four way cross (this one isn't in color and is much more typical in appearance than the one seen on the red rosary from 2 days ago) and an "Our Lady of Fatima" medal in honor of the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Portugal when she appeared to three children over a series of days in 1917 telling them she desired frequent recitation of the rosary as a penance for all sinners (and bringing the devotion to a new popularity among the faithful).

The One that Always Gets Away

I've come across this brown faceted glass rosary several times and I really love the way it looks. Once again you can see it has all the stuff I like, ornate spacer links instead of chains, an extra link between each Ave bead, and a beautiful matched center medal and crucifix. The beads are quite long but very slender giving this rosary a very streamlined appearance, which is the main reason why I never seem to stomach the high prices it seems to attract from bidders. If I'm going to pay $90 - $120 for a rosary it should at least be comfortable to pray on and I've found that rosaries with skinny beads like this just aren't.

There's not much else to say about it unless you view it close up. This close up view lets you see the intricacy of the center medal as well as the links. They are both quite beautiful. The hallmarking on the crucifix is quite elaborate. There's the maker's mark at the top of the crucifix and then a second mark at the bottom which says "design" and has a number. I'm not sure it that's meant to be a serial number or perhaps denotes some kind of limited edition. The purity of the silver is not indicated.

Observe also the "nails" sticking out of the back of the crucifix. This is common to many crucifixes and it should be noted that in this case (and in the case of most fancy sterling silver crucifixes) these nails are not sticking through from the front, they have been delibrately placed. Because of the importance placed on the crucifixtion and on the wounds of the crucified Christ, rosary makers almost always show that the nails have been driven all the way through by placing false nails on the back side of the crucifix that match up with the nail heads on the front side.

Possibly my favorite rosary ever

I love this rosary. LOVE it. It represents everything that I look for in a beautiful fancy rosary. These would be: spacers instead of chains, an extra link between each bead, soldered rings at the terminus of each bead, and it's pretty large, around 8mm. Unfortunately it is not mine, but I do own an exact copy in black.

The assembly of this rosary, that is the crucifix, center medal, and spacers (the things between the Our Father beads) are all .925 sterling silver and it has the hallmark E.R.M.S on it. This particular rosary has very nicely matched enamel medals on it, probably from Europe. Going left to right we see a rose slide medal (it would slide open to reveal something inside, usually a relic), a red enamel Infant of Prague medal, a small red enamel Sacred Heart of Jesus Medal on the drop, a really amazing four color enamel "Four Way Cross" (also on the drop), and finally a red enamel Immaculate Heart of Mary medal.

All and all a truly exquisite rosary. Even the bail on the crucifix is embelished and while I don't normally go in for suffering Jesus images, I find the expression on the center medal to be quite eloquent. Alone the rosary is a treasure and when you add the collection of amazing enamel medals (red is very unusual and I have never seen a four way cross like that before or since) this rosary is truly unique.

Why the rosary?

It seems that I have always been fascinated by rosaries. I got my first rosary when I was eight years old and I still have it. That doesn't sound than unusual unless you take into account the fact that I grew up Jewish. I used to think it was the most perfect thing I had ever seen which seems odd to me now because it's a pretty plain rosary. It was my love of the rosary that lead me to see what else the Catholic church had to offer. A lot as it turns out and I can now say I am a Jewish Catholic. (I'm in good company, so was Mary, and Jesus.)

I began collecting rosaries in high school, but I didn't really get any good ones until I was in college. I have always hung my rosaries in the bathroom. It's hard to find good ways to decorate one's bathroom and the rosaries look nice in there. I have around 50 or 60 rosaries, many of them quite rare. All of them tell interesting stories and friends from my church have often suggested I write a book on the rosary as a devotional item.

Recently I decided that it was a little unfair that I had all the good rosaries. I certainly can't pray on all of them at once and so I am now endeavoring to catalog them and then sell all but a few treasured favorites. I decided a blog where each entry was a rosary was the perfect way to keep a record and share it with everyone else. I'm in the process of photographing the collection now and should have my first rosary up soon.