CULT OF THE VIRGIN CL

The Virgin Mary has inspired a special and fervent popular devotion, at times mingled with echoes of pre-Christian and folk traditions. In this unique book, Marie-France Boyer has gathered images, attributes, and adornments of the Queen of Heaven, from Ireland to Russia to Portugal, from Mexico to Guatemala to Austria. Pictured in rich detail are the gorgeous raiments for the statues and pictures of the madonnas, the layers of lace veils, the jewels and golden crowns. The crystal tears on the carved faces that represent Our Lady of the Sorrows find their counterpart in the seven swords that wound her heart. There is a tradition of black madonnas, including the enigmatic wooden statue of Our Lady of Rocamadour in France, the famous painting of the Virgin of Czestochowa in Poland, and Mexico's Virgin of Guadalupe. The unusual, often moving, photographs include pilgrimages and processions; relics, such as the veil of the virgin and Charlemagne's jewel containing a drop of holy milk; and votive offerings that range from miniature wax or metal limbs to rosaries, wedding rings, and paintings of rescues at sea.

Marie-France Boyer is a freelance journalist, and the Paris editor for The World of Interiors magazine