Spanish school of the XIX century.

Spanish school of the XIX century.
"Queen of the Angels".
In carved wood, polychrome and carved.
With estofado and sgraffito.
Measurements: 81 x 42,50 cm.

This type of works of small format, were made almost exclusively for wealthy families and aristocracy. As a general rule, this class of society had small chapels inside their palaces and decorated them with this type of pieces, where they could pray and pray to God as if they were in a great temple.

Our Lady of the Angels, also known as Saint Mary of the Angels or the Virgin of the Angels, is one of the titles with which Catholics venerate Mary, mother of Jesus.

The origin of this title is in Italy. According to tradition, in 352, with the permission of Pope Liberius, some hermits from Jerusalem built a hermitage on the outskirts of Assisi, where they deposited relics from the tomb of the Virgin Mary and others from the Patriarch St. Cyril. The church was initially called St. Mary of Josaphat and dedicated to the Assumption.

Because of the Assumptionist relics, the church was also known as Our Lady of the Angels. In 511, St. Benedict and his monks inhabited the site, endowing it with a surrounding field, which is why it became popularly known as "Portiuncula". The Benedictines ceded the temple to St. Francis of Assisi, who requested and obtained its consecration on August 2, 1215.

St. Francis, inspired by the Lord, asked Pope Honorius III for a plenary indulgence for those who visited the hermitage in a state of grace, commemorating the Dedication of the temple every August 2, thus establishing the universal day of Our Lady of the Angels. According to tradition, St. Francis of Assisi had an apparition of Jesus and the Virgin around this celebration.

In the 20th century, Pope Pius X proclaimed the church a Patriarchal Basilica and Papal Chapel, granting it the same privileges as the Basilicas of Rome and Outside the Walls. In 1968, during the pontificate of Paul VI, it was decreed that the basilicas celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Angels annually in a special way.