Articles
Small terracotta sculpture representing 5 characters in the flames of hell (including a priest and a woman): 5 souls in purgatory, representation of the "Anime Pezzentelle*" of Neapolitan craftsmanship (Naples, Italy), vintage late 19th century.
This sculpture is in good general condition. The characters are removed from the base.
Note: a few accidents (one arm missing, another glued back on, see red arrows), some dirt and wear from time, see photos.
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The "anime pezzentelle": perhaps drawing its origins from pagan traditions dating from before the Christian era, the cult of the souls of Purgatory developed strongly in Naples from the 17th century, a time when the city was struck by terrible plagues - including the great plague of 1656 - which decimated its population. There is no place to bury the dead: the remains are piled up, particularly outside the intra-Moenia city (see the article on the Fontanelle cemetery). Without a consecrated tomb, these abandoned and anonymous dead cannot reach Paradise and are thus condemned to remain in Purgatory. The Neapolitan people developed a cult for these poor anime pezzentelle - which could be translated as "begging souls". Thus, the pezzentelle anime beg to escape Purgatory. And the Neapolitans respond to this call with a unique cult in the world, called in Italian indifferently culto delle anime del Purgatorio or culto delle anime pezzentelle. This cult takes two forms. The first and least striking is characterized by small chapels, which are found in various places including in homes, where the souls in Purgatory are symbolized by small figures surrounded by flames. The other, which has captured the imagination of visitors for several centuries, takes the somewhat morbid form of a skull cult.
