R is for ROSARY. 'From A to Z in April', Saturday, April 20th, 2013.
A Rosary is a string of beads or a beaded chain of prayer-beads that is used within the Catholic Church. As a Lutheran, I am not knowledgable enough to explain its history or how it should be used. It is also just too big a subject for a short A to Z - post. For those who are interested in learning more, please visit and read Wikipedia's article here, where the Rosary is defined as:
The rosary (from Latin rosarium, meaning "Crown of Roses"[1] or "garland of roses"[2]) is a Roman Catholic sacramental and Marian devotion to prayer and the commemoration of Jesus and events of his life. The term "Rosary" is used to describe both a sequence of prayers and a string of prayer beads used to count the prayers. The word is sometimes written with an initial capital in a Catholic context.
What I am doing for A to Z is to show a number of Rosaries that are available on Etsy, in order to illustrate a range of possibilities for this 'functional piece of jewellery'.
This almost minimalistic wooden Rosary is intended for men to use:
This vintage mother of pearl rosary was made around 1900.
Here are French vintage rosaries made of ivory, glass and mother of pearl beads:
Here is a vintage Rosary from Jerusalem with carved beads:
I was delighted to discover that many Etsy shops sell newly made rosaries and other prayer beads.
One shop that really stands out with beautiful rosaries is VirgoPotensRosaries. Virgo Potens means 'Virgin Most Powerful'. The owner of this shop, who makes these Rosaries, has some interesting thoughts about how she got started:
I am a devout Catholic. I found that I was frustrated with a store
bought rosary that I paid a lot of money for that kept falling apart.
So, I started doing research on rosaries. I paid for some private
classes to teach me what I wanted to know. And, so, last spring I began
making rosaries in earnest.
What I found was that there are so many beautiful devotions out there in
the form of chaplets. Chaplets are special prayers in honor of Saints,
Our Lord, and Our Lady.
I create rosaries and chaplets using the wire wrap technique. Crafting
the rosaries this way ensures them against the breakage that you have
with normal rosaries. I create these so that they can be an heirloom
that can be passed down to your children and your children’s children.
Wrapping this way is more time intensive. I also use quality medals that
are re-cast from antiquities right here in the USA.
I love what I do. Each piece of my work is really a prayer for the
people who will purchase it, as I find myself praying for them, but also
as a prayer to the one who the devotion is in honor of.
I take a lot of time matching the beads with my rosaries and chaplets to
the medals. Often times it is a lengthy process of going through all my
beads with the medals laid out against them and picking so that by the
time I start a project I already love it.
I particularly like working with the bronze materials. I think they have
a look that makes them have an 'old world' look to them, but knowing
that they will be around for years to come because of the way that they
are made. I also use sterling silver. My sterling pieces are all
sterling including the links, chain or connector beads.
I love, and predominately use, semi-precious stones. I love the
variation in the stones and find that they add to the beauty of the
piece.
Take a look at the craftsmanship, good design and feeling for material, that she has put into these Rosaries.
This Rosary shows that prayer beads can have beautiful pastel colours.
This Momento Mori rosary is interesting and well made, with its skull beads and drop of blood-bead, (Momento Mori means 'Remember, you will die'.)
I have never prayed with a rosary. It was not a part of my childhood. But I can understand that the Rosary means a lot to many Catholics who have grown up with this practice. Here is a pouch for a child's Rosary:
I find the Rosaries for babies and children quite touching. Look at these pink ones for little girls.
Here is a rosary made with Christmas-colours.
Here are some very old rosaries that are not available on Etsy.
Modern, inexpensive and/or freely donated Rosaries are often made of
plastic in Asia.
Click on the shop name at the bottom of each image to get to each Etsy-shop.
Would you like to learn how to pray the Rosary? Go here.
My
theme for A to Z is my favourite things that might show up in written
stories, poems, paintings or jewellery. This is my list of subjects that
I would like to work with.
Best wishes,
Anna
First Commenter:
Su-sieee Mac
of
Take 25 to Hollister
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