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Virgin of Marseilles or santibelli * in polychrome and silver terracotta, representing the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus, standing on a plinth painted in a faux marble style decorated with the initial M, from the late 19th-early 20th centuries.
This Virgin is in good condition and is of good quality.
A note: some small accidents and lack of polychromy (especially on the base), missing the thumb on a child's hand, some dirt and wear of time, see photos.
The " Santibelli " are statuettes generally around forty centimeters high . Molded in terracotta , but also in plaster , from Italy , they are painted in very bright colors , sometimes sprinkled with glitter, or gold leaf . The origin of the name of these statuettes is difficult to define: here we evoke a very Marseille nickname which qualifies as " Santibelli " the stupid of service , the sympathetic fool and not really smart . There, we imagine that " Santibelli " comes from the cry of the Italian sellers who, according to tradition, peddled these objects: " Santi ... Belli ... "; like a cry from the street , which in a short cut would have remained to designate these statuettes sold at auction .
