Description
This bronze Gate of Heaven (St. Joseph) rosary features 10x7mm Ave beads of red tiger eye, a form of regular (gold) tiger eye that has been gently heated until the iron in the stone colors the stone this gorgeous red. (This sort of heat treatment is a normal and widely-used treatment in the precious/semi-precious gem trade.)
The Paters are 12mm round Sommerso lampwork beads with gold and silver foil interior with accents of red, rust, green, and black, suspended in champagne-colored transparent glass; they are accented by antiqued gold-plated basket bead caps and 3mm Czech fire-polished beads in a complimentary deep cedar/rust.
The center is a reproduction solid bronze Gate of Heaven medal, which has St. Joseph carrying the Christ Child through a columned arch that appears to be made of palm fronds. St. Joseph carries the Child on his left arm and grasps his iconic flowering staff in his right (the staff that legend associates with his being chosen by God to wed the Virgin Mary). This is a solid bronze piece, so it can be engraved on the reverse. This representation of St. Joseph is based on the main altar of the L’Eglise St. Joseph in Beauvais, France, and is sometimes seen on vintage oval medals. The crucifix is a reproduction solid bronze crucifix in a complimentary ‘fleuree’ style (i.e., the ends of the arms ‘blossom’ into fleur-de-lis shapes). In real life, the bronze center and crucifix are more reddish-gold-bronze than the gold color in the pictures–I have not discovered how to get both the beads and the bronze parts to both be the correct color in photos, so I have chosen to show the beads the correct color.
The rosary is fully wire-wrapped in jeweler’s bronze wire which will patina to a darker golden-bronze color. All loops are unbreakable wrapped loops. It is quite large and has a solid heft in the hand.
Measurements:
Crucifix: 2 1/4” L x 1 3/8” W
Center: 1 3/4’ L x 1 1/16” W
Length: 28 1/2” L
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