At 04:18 AM 12/20/00 +0000, you wrote:
>Here is again what I hope is a working link to a picture:
>
><img
>src=http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/preview/ma/marwin/Nunfullcropped.jpg>
>
>My questions are: Which monastic order, is this the dress of, if any?
>
>Is she a Nun or a Canoness? Or just a Widow?
>
>If the monastic order or religious group can be identified, do you have any
>information about it? Location? Dates? Anything else?
>
>If someone could point the way to some book I don't know about regarding
>religious vestments I would appreciate it.
>
>For the record, I would gladly reciprocate for any help given me. I have a
>fairly extensive library in 6 languages on the subject of Old Masters and
>Christian iconography.
>
>Thank you.
>
>Mark
>
For identifying habits of religious orders there were a variety of picture
books printed in the mid of last century on the topic, which still can be
found in libraries of Catholic Universities and Catholic Seminaries.
Since the woman's face is not covered, I would venture to guess that, if
she is a religous, she is not of a cloistered community. The decorative
design on top of her head, gives me the impression that she is not a
religious, but rather may be a devotee of a convent, since it was
fashionable in this period for wealthy ladies to associate themsevles with
religious convents and take on the air of their manner of dress as much as
a lay woman could. In such a category she could have been anything from a
benefactor to a legal guardian of the community. The wearing of black, is
traditionally a sign of mourning, and so she may be a widow; black is also
commonly worn as a sign of pentitence and poverty..
Sincerely in Christ,
Br. Alexis Bugnolo
The Franciscan Archive
http://www.franciscan-archive.org/
"A WWW Resource on St. Francis and Franciscanism"
62 Pilgrim Road
Mansfield, MA 02048
USA
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