Ave!

Pendant, Roman Catholic, Pilgrimage Token, Marija Bistrica, Black Madonna

White Metal; 19mm  -- ca. Early 20th Century

Con/ Minor corrosion, otherwise, As Stamped.

Obv/ Legend in Croatian -  MAJKA BOZJA = Mother of God; Virgin Mary, standing facing, holding the Christ Child, each crowned and nimbate with stars.

Rev/ None

Seller's Note/ Marija Bistrica is a village in central Croatia, located on the slopes of the mountain region north of the capital Zagreb. The village has an old Marian shrine housing the famous Black Madonna, and is a place of pilgrimage, visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year. 

In 1545 a local priest hid the wonder working statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus, which previously stood in a wooden chapel on the Vinski Vrh (Hill) nearby, within the church to save it from the Turks and took the secret of its hiding place to his grave. The statue was discovered in 1588, when according to the records, a bright light shone from the place where it was buried. In 1650 the statue had to be once again hidden, only to be rediscovered in 1684.

Our provider told us: All of those pendants were bought in churches or outside, especially during religious holidays as prayer tokens of their pilgrimage. Not a souvenir, but rather a devout and holy remembrance. Most of them people wear on their neck just like today, at least here, or old ladies keep them in their wallets, used for prayers or good luck charms.