2-sided Mary amid Lilies in an Oval Frame (M 053) Garden Flag

Also available as a less costly, one-sided variant + Add a finishing touch to your Mary Garden with a garden flag from Saints_Aplenty on Zazzle! This flag features the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) praying amid a field of lilies in an oval frame. Lilies, in the religious language of flowers, are a symbol of purity. They are the flower most emblematic of Mary ever-Virgin. + Here, eyes cast down and hands folded, Mary is the very picture of contemplative prayer. The serenity of the scene is reinforced by its color scheme. The color blue is associated with peacefulness, harmony, and tranquility. And, this scene is suffused with blue hues: The BVM stands against a robin’s egg blue sky. She wears a white veil, white gown, and a darker blue mantle. Even the white veil and gown as well as the white lilies are all tinged with blue. Only the green of the lilies’ leaves and the yellow of Mary’s halo relieve the monochromatism of the composition. + The simulated, that is, PRINTED, gilt wooden frame is part of the original devotional which was nailed or thumbtacked up by a devotee. The frame is oval in shape, depicts the loop of a garland of plaited leaves and berries, and is topped with a bow. + Image Credit (M 053): Antique devotional print in chromolithography of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, original publisher unknown, late 19th century, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera. Reversed, a close variant of the main image also exists in the designer's private collection as a die-cut holy card entitled in Latin as Virgo Virginum [Virgin of Virgins], published in offset by Cav. G. Canedi, Milan, Italy, early-mid 20th century.