Print depicting the Virgin with Symbols of the Litany of Loreto by Jerome Hieronymous Wierix; engraving; Antwerp; published before 1619

Engraving depicting the Virgin Mary Immaculate standing on a crescent moon surrounded by a bank of protective clouds and cherubs who are holding shields that are deflecting the arrows being fired at the Virgin by animal-headed demons in the bottom right and left corners of the image. The central image of the Virgin is suspended above a dragon. Above the Virgin's head is the Holy Trinity. Down either side are four roundels containing images that refer to the titles given to the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto.

Given by Edgar Seligman

Historical significance: The roundels down either side of this print refer to some of the titles given to the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto which include Mirror of Justice, Ark of the Covenant, and Tower of David.

The Litany of Loreto derives its name from having been adopted at the shrine of the Virgin in the Italian town of Loreto to which the Holy House of the Virgin had been miraculously transported in 1294.

The Litany of Loreto is thought to have been composed at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century . The earliest printed copy of the Litany of Loreto was discovered at Dillingen in Germany and dates from 1557 or 1558 although it is thought to be based on a lost Italian prototype. The Litany of Loreto was first officially approved by the Catholic Church in 1587.

Hieronymous Wierix engraved at least three other versions of the Virgin with Symbols of the Litany of Loreto; two larger and one smaller, which suggests that the subject was an extremely popular one.

In this print, shields held by the cherubs who surround the Virgin are stopping the arrows being fired by the animal-headed demons in the bottom right and left corners.

A litany is a type of prayer of earnest or humble petition. It is often used in Christian religous processions and may include repetitions as well as some sort of list.

The Litany of Loreto derives its name from having been adopted at the shrine of the Virgin in the Italian town of Loreto to which the Holy House of the Virgin had been miraculously transported in 1294.

The Litany of Loreto is thought to have been composed at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century . The earliest printed copy was discovered in Germany and dates from 1558 although it is thought to be based on an earlier Italian prototype, which is now lost.

The roundels down either side of this print refer to some of the titles given to the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto which include Mirror of Justice, Ark of the covenant, and Tower of David.

E.3866-1960