{"product_id":"9-vintage-french-pilgrim-wooden-rosary-beads","title":"Vintage French Lourdes Ebony Rosary (Chapelet) – Wooden Pilgrimage Beads","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe found a whole collection of these in an antiques shop in France and obviously the question was “Can we buy them ALL..?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese wonderful old wooden rosaries were made as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epilgrimage souvenirs from Lourdes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the French town that became one of the world’s great Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the 19thC. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis superb example has a little carved wooden heart stamped \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Souvenir de N.D. de Lourdes” - Souvenir of Our Lady of Lourdes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e - and a wonderfully polished string of carved ebony prayer beads, joined with metal links and finished with a beautifully carved medallion with additional inscriptions and a carved crucifix.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLength: 145cm  (57“)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBead diameter approx: 12mm (3\/8“)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey are gloriously tactile and look brilliant simply hung on a wall, looped over a hook or piled into a bowl.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFUN FACTS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe heart-shaped wooden centrepiece is a wonderful detail. In addition the stamp “Souvenir de N.D. de Lourdes” — Souvenir of Our Lady of Lourdes, it doesn’t appear to have been carved. It has been sliced from a branch that was already naturally heart-shaped, with the growth rings and irregular outer edge still visible.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese oversized rosaries were used for counting - each set of 10 beads is a Decade, used for counting Hail Marys with an Our Father in between. Such beads were also worn around the waist over a nun’s or mink’s habit.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Biggs \u0026 Hill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58820529357174,"sku":"UO-Sep26-09","price":125.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0676\/4799\/6181\/files\/654DA7B3-8FEE-404A-BB9F-1EECA03F9EE7.jpg?v=1790372574","url":"https:\/\/www.biggsandhill.com\/products\/9-vintage-french-pilgrim-wooden-rosary-beads","provider":"Biggs \u0026 Hill","version":"1.0","type":"link"}