Free to use stock images of antique Catholic items created hundreds of years ago such as: statues, holy books, chalices, crosses, and more.
Details: The inscription around this sumptuous book case states that it was ordered by George Evinikhidze, secretary of King George XI of Kartli (r. 1703-1709). The case is made of exceptionally pure gold and is so soft that it feels as if it might melt in one's hand. Images of...
Details: DID YOU KNOW? This miniature masterpiece was held and caressed within the palm of the holder as they prayed and meditated on their faith. What do you use to focus or engage in quiet concentration? DESCRIPTION Prayer nuts or "paternosters" are generally made from boxwood and carved with extreme...
The carved scenes of this diptych (hinged two-paneled object) read from left to right, beginning at the bottom: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Betrayal of Judas, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and Pentecost. In the Middle Ages, wealthy nobles commissioned exquisite diptychs, illustrated prayer...
This is a Roman sarcophagus located in the crypt of St. Andrew's Church in Cologne, Germany, which contains the relics of Albertus Magnus, a Catholic saint and bishop known for his contributions to philosophy and theology during the Middle Ages. A sarcophagus is a stone coffin, while a crypt is...
Details: This seated Virgin and Child was carved in the middle of the 13th century, a time when private devotional practices became increasingly popular. In bedchambers or in small oratories, private domestic spaces set aside for prayer, images like this would have served as focal points for prayer and meditation....
Details: The Georgian inscription on the handle of this cross indicates that its silver frame was commissioned in 1713 by Domentius IV (Damian Bagrationi), Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church from 1705 to 1741, "for the forgiveness of his sins." The woodcarving inside carries Greek inscriptions and was most probably...
Details: This cross would have been placed on the altar and used by priests for blessing the faithful. Its woodcarved center depicts the Crucifixion on one side and Christ's Baptism on the other. The top and bottom arms contain images of the four evangelists. The Crucifixion is flanked by Saints...
Details: Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture "Cristo Crocifisso" (The Crucified Christ) is a life-size bronze sculpture of the crucified Jesus[2]. It was cast in 1650 and held in Bernini's private collection for 25 years[2]. It is believed that Bernini cast three versions of the sculpture, one of which was...
Details: Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen are two sculptures by the Italian artist Gianlorenzo Bernini. They sit in the Chigi Chapel of Siena Cathedral. The statues were commissioned as part of the chapel by the then–pope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi). Work began on the sculptures in 1661 and they...
Details: The "plashchnitsa" (Greek "epitaphios") is an altar cloth that was brought out for special veneration on Good Friday, the feast day of the Crucifixion. At the center, the dead Christ is depicted on an altar-like table beneath a six-winged cherub. To the left and right, two "angels of the...
Details: This painted enamel pendant was probably commissioned as a baptism gift. An inscription on the back of the silver frame gives a birth date (September 9, 1768), and the date of the child's "name day," or baptism (September 28), also the date of the feasts of Saints Chariton the...
Details: The Deposition is a marble sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance master Michelangelo. It depicts four figures: the dead body of Jesus Christ, newly taken down from the Cross, Nicodemus (or possibly Joseph of Arimathea), Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin Mary. The sculpture is housed in the Museo dell'Opera...
Details: The central scene of this painted, gilded wooden triptych shows Christ's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of his Crucifixion, based on a print by the German Master A. G. Christ prays to God the Father while the apostles Peter, John the Evangelist, and James sleep...
Details: The province of Goa in western India was under Portuguese control from 1512–1961, forming a nexus in trading routes that circumnavigated the earth. Goan craftsman were renowned for their supple modeling of ivory (likely exported from Mozambique) into Christian icons, which feed the appetite for luxury products in...
Details: Three tender scenes of the baby Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph fill the rectangular area of this French Gothic ivory. Above them, the squiggly line separates the gable and shows that the prayerful angel is in Heaven. The hinges on each side of the ivory reveal that...
Details: This small icon depicts the Virgin with her hands raised in prayer, and identified by an abbreviated inscription as the Mother of God. The size and theme of the icon suggest it was used in private devotion. For its pious owner, it would have served as a constant reminder...
Details: According to the Gospels, Jesus appeared to his disciples several times after the Resurrection, including on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. In the encounter, represented at the top of this plaque, the disciples lament the Crucifixion, while Jesus explains the redemptive nature of his sacrifice. Below, Jesus appears...
Details: The Virgin Mary holds the Christ Child on her right hip and stands upon a crescent moon, an allusion to the passage in Revelation 12 that describes Mary as "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet." Christ grasps her exposed nipple as a sign...
Details: This ivory plaque probably once served as part of a decorative cover for a liturgical manuscript. Three holy women intent on anointing the body of Jesus approach his burial place, the Holy Sepulchre, seen here as a twostory cylindrical building. A man "robed in white," and endowed here with...
Details: This limestone statue shows the standing Virgin Mary cradling the Christ Child in her arms. It is carved nearly in the round and was once vividly painted. Christ is warmly swaddled to his mother's chest and holds the fingers of his right hand to his mouth; Mary gazes at...
Details: This panel came from a retable made for the parish church of Los Ojíjares, near Granada, which was dedicated to Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin. Saint Anne and her husband, Joaquim, prominently featured in the relief, were honored in Catholic devotion as emblems of the Immaculate Conception...
Details: St. Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of Myra (in present-day Turkey), was one of the most venerated saints in Russia. Considered almost a "national" saint, he was second only to the Mother of God as a protector and intercessor with God. The small figures in the icon's upper corners refer...
Details: This complex composition served a Russian household's spiritual needs throughout the year by incorporating the whole church calendar in the form of images corresponding to the major feast days. Depicted, starting at the bottom left, are the Birth of the Virgin (September 8), Presentation of the Virgin in the...
Details: Elaborately decorated crosses were widely used in religious, military, and imperial processions during the Middle Byzantine era. Often, as here, inscriptions in Greek identify the holy figures depicted in portrait busts. On the front of this cross, the central medallion contains a bust of Christ. The archangels Michael and...
