The image of the Immaculata as Patroness of Portugal and a motif in traditional jewellery pendants

Abstract

Gold and silver pendants representing Our Lady of Conception were some of the most common examples in traditional Portuguese jewellery during the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, following a typological variety of crosses and hearts. In popular culture, these images reflect the great devotion, service and defence that the Dogma of Immaculata had in Iberian Peninsula, strongly supported by the Franciscan Order, which sustained the idea that the Virgin was conceived without sin. This belief, intensified during the 17th century, was politically supported by D. João IV, the first monarch of the dynasty following the Declaration of Independence of Portugal after the Spanish dominance, in 1640. In the Cortes of 1646, D. João IV declares the Virgin of Conception as patroness of the Kingdom, a decision confirmed by Pope Clement X in 1671. This study is intended to reflect on the popularization of these images, display the iconographic model, the techniques used to make these pieces during the 19th and 20th centuries, and evaluate functions, practices and contexts of use. This work is the result of conducted research in archives, goldsmith workshops that still keep moulds with these images, the study of pendants preserved in public and private collections, as well as photographic archives, including individual and group portraiture, where the objects can be seen in their usual context.