Two Beaded Panels from Czecho-Slovakia
Posted by: valeriehector | Filed Under ObjectsTwo Beaded Panels from Czecho-Slovakia
December 20, 2008
Recently I came across two small beaded panels featuring commercial prints of the Virgin Mary surrounded by little beaded flowers and set within beaded wirework frames.
The heart-shaped panel shows the Virgin Mary by herself and the oval panel shows her holding the Christ child in her arms.
The front of each panel is topped with a glass dome, shaped to match the piece it protects. The backs feature metal hooks for hanging.
I originally thought that these pieces must have been made in France, possibly as an offshoot of the beaded funeral wreath industry, but I was wrong.
On the back of the heart-shaped panel, there is a small stamp that says “Made in Czech-Slovakia.”
There is no date, but the hyphen between “Czecho” and “Slovakia,” which was in use at various times between 1918 and 1945, suggests that these panels were made before the mid-1940’s. I sense they are from the 1920’s or 1930’s, but again, I could be wrong.
The usual questions come to mind. How were these panels used, and by whom? Were they produced in multiples, in cottage industry settings, perhaps by women working out of their homes?
Were they made by the dozens, the hundreds, the thousands? Did they hang in homes, in churches, in tombs or on gravemarkers?
In the end, it doesn’t matter. Part of what makes these pieces special is the sense of religious devotion they communicate.
There is also something very moving about the contrast between the 2-dimensionality of the Virgin Mary prints, and the 3-dimensionality of the flowers and frames.
The prints may have been mass produced in a mechanized and impersonal process, but their subject matter is divine. The beads were certainly mass-produced, but the working of them into flowers and frames is a highly personal and labor-intensive matter, accomplished not by machines but by human hands and eyes, focused on embellishing prints that are scarcely worth a few cents on their own. Mortals, in the service of the divine.
Were the makers devoutly religious, or just doing what was necessary to earn a wage?
Was each twist of the wire a prayer of sorts, or just another moment in a long workday?
Somewhere there must be someone who knows more about pieces of this type. I have not seen them published, but they must be represented in museum collections in the Czech Republic– in Prague or in Jablonec nad Nisou?
If I learn more I will let you know. And if you have any ideas, please share them by posting a response below.
(Text and images copyright Valerie Hector 2008)
COMMENTS
3 Responses to “Two Beaded Panels from Czecho-Slovakia”
Leave a Reply
Valerie, I have seen these also when traveling in Europe. I know Kathy Dannerbeck has a collection from her travels to Czech. She may be able to give you some information about them.
They are beautiful votives.
Maggie
Valerie – Maggie Meister told me you were looking for more information on your Czech beaded religous votives. I started collecting them in the mid- late 90′s and have a variety of them. I am currently in Arizona but will send you some pictures of them when I get home. I have found them in Czech, Hungary and Poland. I think they were used in homes. I do have a friend in the Czech that does restoration for many of the museums so I will check with her too.
We’ll be in touch, Kathy
I have a similar piece that was made in English and features a scenic picture in the middle. You can see photos in my flickr album http://www.flickr.com/photos/8261949@N08/sets/72157603157978733/.