Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn

Pagramantis, Tauragė district

From a shrine which also contained the sculptures of St Anthony and St George.

Copies of the famous miracle-working picture Our Lady of Mercy of the Gates of Dawn in Vilnius, one of the most venerated in Lithuania, can sometimes be found in Lithuanian folk sculpture. The cult of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn began to spread in the second half of the 19th century, when copies of it carved by several religious carvers appeared in many Lithuanian churches.

Juozapas Stankus (1840–1922), a carver who lived in the village of Pazimkalnis in the Tauragė district, carved a close copy of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn: a frontal image, with the head inclined to the right, and the hands crossed on the bosom. He carved only the upper half of the figure, just as she is portrayed in the famous picture. Mary is crowned, and the crown is topped with another crown, as in the picture. But the angels supporting the second crown are placed lower in the sculpture than they are in the picture. Each one formerly held a candle, probably to focus on Mary’s suffering. Her head is encircled by a ring of stars, and she has strings of embossed beads around her neck. The carver adorned her cloak with lightly carved floral motifs, in imitation of the casing of the miracle-working picture. The subtly coloured paintwork strengthens the quiet and thoughtful mood of the Virgin expressed by this religious carver.

Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė

Pagramantis, Tauragė district

From a shrine which also contained the sculptures of St Anthony and St George.

Copies of the famous miracle-working picture Our Lady of Mercy of the Gates of Dawn in Vilnius, one of the most venerated in Lithuania, can sometimes be found in Lithuanian folk sculpture. The cult of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn began to spread in the second half of the 19th century, when copies of it carved by several religious carvers appeared in many Lithuanian churches.

Juozapas Stankus (1840–1922), a carver who lived in the village of Pazimkalnis in the Tauragė district, carved a close copy of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn: a frontal image, with the head inclined to the right, and the hands crossed on the bosom. He carved only the upper half of the figure, just as she is portrayed in the famous picture. Mary is crowned, and the crown is topped with another crown, as in the picture. But the angels supporting the second crown are placed lower in the sculpture than they are in the picture. Each one formerly held a candle, probably to focus on Mary’s suffering. Her head is encircled by a ring of stars, and she has strings of embossed beads around her neck. The carver adorned her cloak with lightly carved floral motifs, in imitation of the casing of the miracle-working picture. The subtly coloured paintwork strengthens the quiet and thoughtful mood of the Virgin expressed by this religious carver.

Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė