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Girona Art Museum

Our Lady of Palera

Our Lady of Palera, first half of the 15th century. Polychrome alabaster, 75 × 39 × 24 cm. Església parroquial de Santa Maria, Palera. Girona Art Museum - Bishopric of Girona Collection.

Our Lady of Palera, first half of the 15th century. Polychrome alabaster, 75 × 39 × 24 cm. Església parroquial de Santa Maria, Palera. Girona Art Museum - Bishopric of Girona Collection.

This image was sculpted for the Church of Santa Maria de Palera, where it remained until 1936, when it was smashed but saved by a neighbour who kept the pieces. Unlike most figures of the Virgin, who are shown crying or with a serious expression, this one is smiling.

She holds a sphere in her right hand, which may well be the globe, an object traditionally borne by the Jesus. The child sits on her left knee, with a book bearing the inscription ’Ave, Maria, gratia plena’, a reference to his mother.

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