Free to use stock images of antique Catholic items created hundreds of years ago such as: statues, holy books, chalices, crosses, and more.
Details: This precious silver box was created to contain a relic of the martyred English saint Thomas Becket. Saint Thomas was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170, and he is perhaps best known for his struggles with King Henry II of England over the separation between the rights...
Details: Inscriptions on the back of this object indicate that it served as the repository for a relic believed to be a fragment of the True Cross and that it is thought to have been made for a convent of the Poor Clares, probably in Florence. It is an extraordinary...
Details: Meant to be seen from both front and back, this large Crucifix represents Jesus hanging on the Cross, but nonetheless triumphant over death: his eyes are wide open, and he wears the gold crown of the King of Heaven. Though the original church from which this image comes is...
Details: An exceptional ivory object, this diminutive booklet is unusual in that both the exterior covers, depicting scenes of the Passion, and the interior covers, containing representations of the Virgin, are carved. The religious nature of the booklet suggests that it served as an accessory for private devotion. The painted...
Details: This miniature altar is one of the most beautiful examples of French goldsmiths’ work from the period around 1400. It may have come from the abbey of Chocques (Pas-de-Calais) and doubtless belonged to someone associated with the Paris court. Seeing Christ’s tormented body, the owner could meditate on...
Details: This precious gold cross was commissioned by Countess Gertrude (died 1077) and given to the church of Saint Blaise following the death of her husband, Count Liudolf of Brunswick (died 1038). The cross was intended to be carried in liturgical processions or to be placed on a church altar....
Details: This panel was once part of an altarpiece depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ. The other panels would have included The Ascension of Christ, all mounted within a wooden framework attached to the altar. The reliefs, made by Nottingham craftsmen, were popular in both England and continental Europe,...
Details: When Innocent X (ruled 1644-55) became pope, Alessandro Algardi endeavored to obtain his patronage. This bronze Baptism of Christ is a casting from the molds used for an original silver sculpture that Algardi presented to the new pope to gain his support. The composition depicts an important scene in...
Details: This masterpiece of Florentine embroidery takes the circular form called a tondo and was likely once attached to an altar frontal. The scene depicts the coronation of the Virgin, the final and culminating event in the narrative cycle of her life. Honoring her as queen of heaven, Christ places...
Details: Large ceremonial silver cups with covers were a status symbol in the late 16th century, particularly when gilded like this superb example from Nuremberg. Stylish and grand, these cups provided the ultimate vessel from which a royal guest or aristocratic visitor could drink at a formal banquet. They came...
0:00/1:151×Details: A pax is a small flat tablet decorated with Christian images and meant to be kissed by the priest before Communion. This plaquette likely had a tabernacle-shaped frame which has been cut away. Here the Madonna sits before a stable with a nude Christ Child...
0:00/0:431×Details: The style and quality of this manuscript's decoration is typical of deluxe Parisian books made for aristocratic or royal patrons. Most of the book's decoration appears to be the work of the Master of the Boqueteaux, an artist active at the...
0:00/0:191×Details: Once used as decorations for a reliquary shrine, each enamel plaque represents a biblical prophet: Isaiah, Zacharias, Elisha, and Hosea. Fine gold dots punctuate dark blue backgrounds. Typical of Hildesheim enamels, this detailing creates the illusion that the prophets sit against star-studded twilight skies. 🙏🏽This...
0:00/1:021×Details: These two pages come from a prayer book which belonged to Claude of France (1499-1524), queen consort of France. Claude was the daughter of the French king Louis XII and Anne of Brittany and the first wife of king Francis I of France. She received...
Pax with the Madonna and Child Cleveland Museum of Art0:00/1:121×Details: A pax is a small flat tablet decorated with Christian images and meant to be kissed by the priest before Communion. The Madonna, crowned with a halo, sits with the Christ Child on her right knee,...
Edit Plate Depicting Christs Passion 1510 Italian Catholic Stock Photo Raindropio0:00/0:361×Details: The painted scenes on this plate depicting the Passion of Christ include the betrayal of Jesus by his disciple Judas (right); the arrest and condemnation by the Jews (left); the bearing of the cross (top)...
Details: The Bible is the most important source of inspiration for all Christians. How it was interpreted by the different religious denominations can be deduced from the book’s ornamentation and execution. The scenes on the cover of this missal, for example, are clearly Roman Catholic. Represented in the corners...
Details: The city of Limoges, France, was renowned for the quality of its metalwork and enamels throughout the Middle Ages. The artist formed this relief by hammering the rough design into the copper from the reverse, a technique known as repoussé, then finishing the scene by chasing details into the...
Details: The four scenes represented on this ivory diptych are Christ’s Flagellation and Crucifixion on the left panel and Christ’s Resurrection and Appearance to Mary Magdalene (Noli me tangere, or "Do not touch me"). Ivory diptychs like this one illustrating pivotal moments in the story of...
Details: This ivory cross is carved on the front with scenes drawn from Twelve Feasts of the Orthodox Church, including the Passion and Resurrection of Christ; on the reverse is a scene of the Mother of God surrounded by clergy. The scenes include Slavonic inscriptions. The ivory cross is mounted...
Details: On this statue of Christ kneeling, to the right lie the three sleeping apostles, each with one hand against his head, which represents the Agony in the Garden. The Agony in the Garden, according to all four canonical Gospels, is when, immediately after the Last Supper, Jesus took a...
Details: After disobeying the Lord’s command to proclaim judgment on the city of Nineveh, the Old Testament prophet Jonah was cast into the sea, swallowed by a sea monster, and ultimately cast ashore. When asked a second time, Jonah obeyed the Lord but became displeased when the city was...
Details: She may be the Virgin Mary, amazed at the angelic announcement that she will give birth to a son, Jesus. Or she could be Mary Magdalene, surprised to see Jesus in the guise of a gardener after his resurrection from the dead. Either way, she is a key figure...
0:00/1× Details: Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The...
