Icon - Madonna and Child - .800 silver - Devotional thumbnail

Hand-painted celluloid translucent slab devotional miniature, 800 silver frame – Madonna with Child – Italy, first quarter of the 20th century

Description
Refined Italian devotional miniature depicting the Madonna with the Child, made on a thin translucent celluloid slab (or cellulose-based plastic material of the era). The image is produced by chromolithography in full color and subsequently embellished with delicate hand-painted retouchings, clearly visible in the white highlights on the faces, halos, and garments, and reproduces the traditional iconography of the Virgin in the act of embracing the Child Jesus, a subject very common in domestic religious art from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.
The 800 silver frame features an elegant vertical arched design, enriched at the top by a stylized floral cup. The back retains the original support covered in blue fabric with a folding easel for display on a table, nightstand, or small domestic altar.
This is an interesting object of private devotion that combines decorative value with testimony of popular religious culture of the 20th century.

Technical features
Type: devotional miniature
Subject: Madonna with Child
Origin: Italy
Era: first quarter of the 20th century (circa 1915–1935)
Technique: chromolithography in full color with manual retouching
Support: thin translucent celluloid slab (likely)
Frame material: 800 silver with openwork pattern
Conditions: good overall condition
Measurements: 5.5 x 8 x 1.5 cm
Weight: 30 g

Conditions
The object presents in good conservational conditions.
The colors are still vivid and the hand-painted retouchings are well preserved. Normal signs of time, light oxidations and frame wear are present. The back covered in fabric shows some signs of use and small signs of wear. Please carefully observe all photographs, an integral part of the description.

Curiosity
Objects like this were commonly present in Italian homes and placed on nightstands, consoles, or small domestic altars. The combination of sacred image, protective glass, and openwork frame represents a type highly appreciated by collectors of devotional art and of era-religious objects.

Shipping
The item will be carefully protected with professional packaging and shipped via express courier with tracked shipment.