E Virginis sacrario | Intacta prodis victima.
Proceeding from a virgin shrine | The spotless victim all divine.
A beautiful expression that helps us contemplate the Maternity of Mary, and indeed her role as the first vessel, the first tabernacle for the Body of Christ. This poetic concept was brought into material form in the main altarpiece of the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca.
Constructed
in the late 14th century, this gothic altarpiece consisted of an
open gallery of intricate gilded ogival arches. The central arch was occupied by
a monumental statue of Our Lady, 7 ½ feet tall. The particularity of this image
is that it is hollow, and for centuries was used as a tabernacle. An arched
door on the side of the statue opens to reveal a reservatorium decorated in
blue with gilded stars.
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| Digital reconstruction of the original 14th century gothic altar according to Antoni Pons' hypothesis. Montage by the author. |
The use as sacramental
tabernacle for the image of Nostra Dona de la Seu, as it is called, likely lasted
until the baroque refurbishment of the Cathedral’s sanctuary. A new baroque
altarpiece, more in line with the fashion of the time, was built in the mid 18th
century to replace the original gothic structure. Thankfully, most of this
altarpiece was preserved and is today displayed upon the walls of the Nave. This
baroque altarpiece was in turn dismantled and relocated to another church
during Antonio Gaudi’s refurbishment of the sanctuary in the 19th
century. The Statue, now devoid of its sacramental use, was placed by Gaudi
above the sanctuary under a gothic canopy he designed himself.
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| Our Lady of la Seu in its present location. Pictures by the Capitulum Cathedralis Maiorcensis. |
This particular tradition of eucharistic statues became a common feature in Mallorca during late gothic and early renaissance. However, this is not a custom exclusive to the Spanish archipelago. During the 13th century, the famous enamel workshops of Limoges produced several statuettes of Our Lady seated on a throne with a compartment destined to contain the Blessed Sacrament and relics. Other examples of tabernacle-statues could be found in several Cistercian abbeys such as La Trappe or Doberan.
Further
reading:
WikiSeu – an encyclopedic
project promoted by the Cathedral Chapter
Pons Cortés,
Antoni and Francisco Molina Bergas. “Reformas y pervivencias medievales
en la Capilla Real de la Seu de Mallorca: el caso del retablo gótico del altar
mayor (s. XV-XX).” Porticvm. Revista D’estudis Medievals, nº 3, 2012.
Cerdà Garriga, María Magdalena. “Las imágenes de María en el
gótico mallorquín. Tipologías y variantes iconográfica.” 2013.
Llompart, Gabriel And Jerónimo Juan.Jerónimo, 1965, “Las
Vírgenes-sagrario de Mallorca”, Bolletí de la Societat Arqueològica Lulliana,
nº 32, 1965.
