Free to use stock images of antique Catholic items created hundreds of years ago such as: statues, holy books, chalices, crosses, and more.
About the Image: This ivory plaque depicts Mary, Joseph, and one of his sons from a previous wife on their way to Bethlehem. The scene is set within an architectural frame that combines Byzantine decorative elements (such as the acanthus leaf column capitals) with Islamic architectural motifs (most notably, the...
About the Image: This almond-shaped enamel plaque depicts the half-length figure of an angel inscribed in a medallion. A nearly identical plaque in the cathedral treasury of St. Martin at Orense in Galicia (Northern Spain) suggests that this plaque once formed part of a large altar frontal commissioned by Bishop...
About the Artist: Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1529) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, primarily known for his work in ceramics. He was the son of Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), the brother of Girolamo della Robbia (1488-1566), and the grandnephew of Luca della Robbia (1399/1400-1482)[1]. Giovanni worked as an assistant...
About the Image: Christianity most likely arrived in Ethiopia in the first century. The conversion of King Ezana in 330 c.e. led to its official acceptance and the minting of coins bearing one of the earliest uses of the cross as a Christian symbol. Although the silver pendant crosses...
About the Image: This relief was once part of a larger object, probably a decorated metal sheet that covered a painted icon for protection and embellishment. Christ, holding a Gospel book in one hand and making the sign of blessing with the other, would originally have faced a portrait of...
About the Image: This cross depicts at its center a second small cross of the Crucifixion, flanked by miniature representations of the lance and sponge, instruments of Christ's Passion. The skull below suggests the name of the hill - Golgotha (place of skulls) - and also refers to...
Details: This small triptych icon is fitted within a silver frame and was meant to be worn on the chest as a pendant. The outside of the frame is engraved with floral ornament and has a small relief Crucifix in the middle. In the top register on the inside, the...
Details: According to legend, Saint Catherine was a learned noble maiden from the Egyptian city of Alexandria who was martyred in the early 4th century on account of her Christian faith. The three small scenes at the bottom of this panel illustrate episodes from her life: the Roman empress is...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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&...
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...
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...
