Virgin Giving Birth (18th? 19th Century) In Quimper Earthenware (nevers? Auxerre?…).

Virgin giving birth (18th? 19th century) in Quimper earthenware (Nevers? Auxerre?…).

Height 23.5 cm.
On the table: Sainte vierge PPN (Pray for us).
Polychromy intact, blue, manganese, green and yellow.
A very old restoration on the table under the left foot and a chip of enamel on the back of the crown

They now inhabit the display cases of the Museums of Popular Arts and Traditions of Bretagne, Auxerre or Nevers. These earthenware virgins, often polychrome, with delicate or roughly worked details, are the discreet relics of this tradition from another era that our time has forgotten.
It is in the heart of a still very pious Bretagne, in Quimper, famous for its earthenware factories, that this tradition was born before being exported to Auxerre and Nevers.
Objects of popular devotion, they were often found in homes from the 18th to the 19th century, particularly in the homes of young families. When childbirth became imminent, the Virgin Mary was presented at the bedside of the young mother: a candle was placed in the cavity of her crown, which was to burn until the birth of the child. Its function was also practical, since the candle, while burning, indicated the so-called “normal” duration of childbirth.
Present in all homes, they were stored when not in use, on the fireplace, in wooden Virgin niches or oratories where the bride’s crown was also often placed to mark the passage from daughter to wife and from wife to mother. (aleteia)