Antique Rosaries 16

What a lovely mid-20th century rosary. This was a souvenir from Rome as it has Roma in script on the reverse of the crucifix. Note the very attractive layered crucifix, there are vines w heart-shaped leaves. What makes this rosary really special are the beautiful pale, pale pink beads with double caps. Done in the style of rosaries from the 1940s, this one appears to be a little more recent as the center is typical of 60s and 70s rosaries. It appears this rosary has barely been used- and is quite appropriate for daily use. The bead caps are shiny and bright silver- probably plated. This is a nice large rosary at 23 1/2" in length.

This is one of the most intriguing rosaries I've had. About half of the beautiful beads are carnelian and the rest are an incredible carnelian colored glass while the other half are genuine gemstone carnelian. Note the paler Pater beads which are all authentic carnelian, then there are the deep soft red Ave beads. Some are glass and others are carnelian. The closeness of color is so amazing; the only way to differentiate between the carnelian and the glass is to closely observe both the surface of the bead and the interior- the carnelian shows a smoothly cut surface and interesting variations within the bead. These are not replacement beads; it's as though the original maker of the rosary didn't have enough stone beads or maybe had a mix and they couldn't tell the difference between the glass and the carnelian. We will never know the whole story of this rosary. Note the beautiful silver center- this is a puffed center and the side pictured has a slight depression. The crucifix is a beautiful hollow silver one, typical of French rosaries in the last half of the 1800s. The rosary is just over 18" when laid out straight. This is a high-end rosary for the serious collector or one who wants a devotional object that is rare and exceptional. Well over 100 years old, the rosary could be carefully used on occasion.

The glass beads have a slightly sparkly look in this photograph. The Pater beads are pale carnelian while many of the Ave beads are deep red carnelian, the others are glass that very closely resembles carnelian. It is quite a mystery why there are a mix of beads- we will never know if there was some significance to the rosary maker or original owner. A precious antique devotional artifact!

What a unique antique, 100+ year old rosary! Made of Job's Tears- a seed resembling tear drops, even the cross is made from the seeds. Attached are two medals- a rare dated medal of Joan of Arc from 1909 and a lovely Immaculate Conception medal of Mary with a standing Sacred Heart of Jesus reverse. Both medals are aluminum, a metal that was actually highly valued at the time. The Joan of Arc medal is 3/4" in diameter, while the square medal is over an inch in height. The rosary is long at just shy of 23" when laid flat. Lovely antique French rosary- the links do have a tendency to kink so I would not recommend this rosary for daily use.

Email The Sacred Bead