Part 3 of the Exhibition Camino El Origen (The Way The Origin) which was held between days March 13 and September 13 of this year 2015 in the Museum Centro Gaiás in the Ciudad de la Cultura of Santiago de Compostela.
Click Here for Part 1.
Click Here for Part 2.
Room 13
The Protection of the Way.
The Way of Saint James is closely linked to hospitality and Works of Mercy. The pilgrim embodies all the characteristics of the sinner: the one who must be assisted and saved. This is why, in a similar way, all the roads to Compostela were filled with sanctuaries devoted to different saints protectors of pilgrims: hosts, bridge builders, etc.
Names such as Santo Domingo de la Calzada, San Lesmes, San Juan de Ortega are consubstantial to The Way, forming part of it and, literal contributing to its construction.
Chasuble of St. John the Hermit. Anonymous, first half of the 12th century. Textile. 164 cm. length, 4,75 m. O, 0,5 m. aperture. Church of San Martín de Quintanaortuño, Burgos.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Damiant Forment, 1540. Painted wood. 102 x 45 x 27 cm. Main altarpiece of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, La Rioja.
Saint Aemilian and Saint James in the Battle of Simancas. Pedro Ruiz de Salazar, ca. 1640-1650. Oil on canvas. 138 x 217 cm. Monastery of Yuso, San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja.
Room 14
The Cult of the Virgin.
The cult to Mary is closely linked to The Way of Saint James. While it is true that initially the phenomenon of pilgrimage to the confines of the Peninsula was faced with various competitors, such as Rome or Jerusalem, it is also true that among those centres of devotion that competed against each other there were many sanctuaries for Marian devotion which, since the 9th century, attracted worshippers.
Whether it was due to the pressure of The Way or because of a change in religious mentality, the result was that very soon the Marian sanctuaries along The Way ended up becoming associated to it, to the extent that, along with the devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar, other Marian devotions appeared, such as the Pilgrim Virgin, which is worth highlighting.
Her first iconographic appearance is illustration XLIX of the Cantigas de Santa María attributed to Alfonso X of Castile where she is shown walking and carrying a staff. From that initial reference, especially as of the 16th century, the devotion and her image were defined, adopting the garments that each period demanded of pilgrims.
Pilgrim Our Lady Patron of the Mission of the Apaches. Antonio Sánchez, ca. 1750. Oil on canvas. 85 x 65 cm. Museo de Pontevedra. Diputación de Pontevedra.
Miracle of the pilgrim who died through the devil´s deception and resuscitated through the intercession of Saint James before the Virgin Mary. (Cantigas de Santa María, Cantiga XXVI). Scriptorium Real de Alfonso X el Sabio, middle of the 13th century. Parchment. 55,1 x 36,5 x 13 cm. Facsimile. Private collection, Santiago de Compostela.
Our Lady of La Peña de Francia. Antonio Romero, 1740. Oil on canvas. 166 x 135 cm. Museo Diocesano Catedralicio de Lugo.
Room 15
Treasures of The Way.
The Way of Saint James was not only a route for the traffic of people, it was also a route for the circulation of ideas and goods. For this reason it is common to find a large amount of objects, of the most diverse origin, that ended up constituting small treasures within the heritage of The Way.
This is the case of a chess set from Orense, whose preservation, along with de Treasure of Saint Rudesind, is the result of the relic “brand” of Saint Rudesind, which preserved them from the indifference that has no often accompanied many other works.
The same can be said of jet objects which, as many are souvenirs from the Saint James pilgrimage or small amulets, make the larger examples, such as the processional crosses, even more outstanding.
Similarly, along with these treasures there are also others made from exotic materials such as bone or ivory, material used for the rectangular chest with the story of Saint Susanna, carried out with the delicate work of intarsia alla certosina marquetry. Its sides are covered with convex rectangular bone plates (six per scene) which make up six more scenes with reliefs narrating the story of Susanna and the Elders, as per the story in the Book of Daniel.
Chess pieces. El Cairo atelier. Anonymous, 10th century. Rock crystal. 3.2 x 2.4 cm. / 3.5 x 2.5 cm. / 4.2 x 3 cm. / 4.5 x 4 cm. Museo de la Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño de Orense.
God the Father. Indo-Portuguese atelier, 16th century. Painted bone. 18 x 5 x 4 cm. Museo Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
Virgin with child. Viceroyal atelier, 17th century. Ivory. Museo Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
Good sheperd. Goa atelier, 17th century. Ivory. Royal Monastery of Santa Clara de Carrión de los Condes, Palencia.
Archangel Saint Michael. Spanish-Philipine school. Ivory. 70 cm. height. Parish of Santa María de Conxo, Santiago de Compostela.
Pilgrim sacred family. Indo-Portuguese atelier, 18th century. Ivory. 30 x 27 x 8.5 cm. Museo das Peregrinación e de Santiago de Compostela.
Reliquary chest of Saint Valeria. Limoges atelier, ca. 1200. Wooden interior, enamelled and engraved Champlevé gilt-copper. 13.5 x 12.5 x 6 cm. Museo da Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño, Ourense.
Reliquary chest plaque with the image of Saint James. Limoges atelier, 12th century. Metal end enamel. 32 x 12 cm. Museo da Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño, Ourense.
Pax with enthroned figure of Saint James. Anonymous, 16th century. Enamel and gilded bronze. 11.6 x 6.4 cm. Parish church of Betanzos, A Coruña.
Reliquary chest of Saint Stephen. Limoges atelier, ca. 1200. Wooden interior, enamelled and engraved Champlevé gilt-copper. 17 x 14 x 6 cm. Museo da Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño, Ourense.
Chest with the story of Susana. First atelier of the Story of Susana. Italy ca. 1420-1430. Natural-coloured bone, dyed green; ebony and other fine woods. 52 x 31 x 27 cm. Museo da Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño, Ourense.
Ivory chests. 11th-12th centuries. Size 1 large box: 28 x 12.5 x 11.5 cm. Other sizes: 13 x 7 x 8.5 each. Museo da Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño, Ourense.
Room 16
This room lacked the explanatory text printed on the wall. We can interpret that is continuation of the previous room.
Abbess necklace. Anonymous, 17th century. Jet. Museo de los Caminos de Astorga, León.
Jet processional cross. Anonymous, León, 1497. Jet, partially gold-coloured. 76 x 45 cm. Museo da Catedral-Basílica de San Martiño, Ourense.
Saint James the Elder. Pedro Duque Cornejo, ca. 1714-1718. Painted Wood. 211 cm. Basílica de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias. Arzobispado, Granada.
Apparition of the Virgin in the Temple. London atelier, ca. 1460. Alabaster with traces of colour. 36 x 28 cm. Museo Catedralicio e Diocesano de Mondoñedo, Lugo.
Jesus praying in the orchard. From the ancient altarpiece of Santo Estebo de Valcarría, Viveiro, Lugo. Nottingham atelier, ca. 1420-1450. Polychrome alabaster. 42 x 25 cm. Museo Catedralicio e Diocesano de Mondoñedo, Lugo.
Crucifiction. From the ancient altarpiece of Santo Estebo de Valcarría, Viveiro, Lugo. Nottingham atelier, ca. 1420-1450. Polychrome alabaster. 42 x 25 cm. Museo Catedralicio e Diocesano de Mondoñedo, Lugo.
Trinity. London atelier, ca. 1460. Alabaster with traces of colour. 36 x 28 cm. Museo Catedralicio e Diocesano de Mondoñedo, Lugo.
End of Part 3.
Click Here for Part 4.
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