Bargain of the Day: Capella Gotica

by Feòrag

While on his holidays, Pastor Best went to visit a Black Madonna, Our Lady of Montserrat, near Barcelona, and brought me back a most delightful present. Described as a “capella gothica”, which I suspect means “gothic chapel”, this icon is made of finest gold (plastic) and silver (plastic) and stands about 20cm high. The figure of the Virgin and child appears to have been blackwashed to bring out the details. The doors open and close, and feel only slightly stiff and likely to break when breathed upon — it survived Ryanair's baggage handlers, so it can't be that fragile. The good Pastor says that it is nothing compared to the tat you can buy at Lourdes. Do any low-cost airlines go there? [Note: clicking on the thumbnail will take you to a very large and detailed photo of this delightful and charming object.]