Fabulous Antique 15 Decade Wooden Pilgrim Rosary Covered with Medals!

This is an absolutely wonderful rosary dating from sometime in the 30s to 50s and holding 15 medals that commemorate journeys to Christian sacred sites. What a wonderful piece of history. I'm proud to present this incredible rosary on The Sacred Bead! This is a complete, 15 decade rosary, difficult to find without all the medals. In addition to the medals it also has an inlaid crucifix with skull and crossbones at the foot of the cross.
At each Pater bead, a medal has been attached with an S-loop link and jump ring. There are four medals from Lourdes, an aluminum crucifix and an additional 10 medals. They include a beautiful one from Rome with Pope Pius XI who was Pope from 1922-1939. There is an Our Lady of Salette, Our Lady of Myans, a beautiful silver Guardian Angel and St. Joseph, St Christopher and more. Several are lovely blue enamel on metal. I'm including lots of pictures! If you want to buy an antique rosary, The Sacred Bead has one of the best selections on the internet!

 The inlaid crucifix with skull and crossbones along with some of the medals.

 Note the blue enamel medals. See this rosary and many, many other antique rosaries on The Sacred Bead.

This rosary is now on special on page 10 of the Antiques section at The Sacred Bead. Rosary has sold, thank you and hope you enjoy!

Simply a beautiful historic rosary- could easily be used daily as it has the extra-strong links that have double wire, these rarely come apart!

Antique and Vintage Rosaries as Wedding and Anniversary Gifts

As we approach June, I'm trying to provide a nice selection of antique and vintage rosaries that would be appropriate for wedding or anniversary gifts. I'm concentrating on antique sterling rosaries and lovely antique French rosaries for that someone very special! Nothing beats the beauty of an antique or vintage sterling rosary, but with silver prices soaring, many beautiful pieces of jewelry including rosaries are being melted down. This happened before in the 1980s, but this time may even be worse. It makes me just weep to think of beautiful rosaries being melted down for the metal. 
Back to the positive side, there really is nothing more lovely than a vintage silver and crystal rosary or a rare antique mother of pearl and silver rosary, so take a little time and look through The Sacred Bead enjoying the beauty of all the rosaries! You might find the perfect one for a gift or for yourself.

 Upliftingly lovely cut crystal and sterling rosary. As always, I never clean rosaries, leaving that to the new owner. All antique sterling rosaries should be cleaned with care to not damage beads of natural materials, such as coral or mother of pearl.

 Boldly beautiful, heavy sterling and black glass rosary with extra sterling medal. The reverse of this crucifix is quite amazing- be sure to go look. This is a wonderful vintage sterling rosary.

 Beautiful 1920s or 30s French mother of pearl and silver rosary.

 Refreshing spring green crystal and sterling antique French rosary.

 Astonishing carnelian and sterling French rosary from the 1800s.

 Incredible all sterling Wedding Bells vintage rosary. These are getting harder and harder to find!

 A very masculine Sterling and French Jet rosary from the 1960s or 70s.

1800s French mother of pearl and sterling rosary. Visit The Sacred Bead for the largest selection of antique and vintage rosaries on the internet.

Gorgeous Vintage Virgin of Guadalupe Rosary

This is such a special rosary with beautiful encased glass beads and a magnificent crucifix. Dating from the middle of the 20th century,  Our Lady of Guadalupe is featured on both the crucifix and reverse of the center. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 Simply gorgeous crucifix with The Virgin of Guadalupe at the top.

 Lovely double capped, or encased, glass beads.

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe on the reverse of the center. See this wonderful rosary on The Sacred Bead.
It is told that the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to the Aztec man Juan Diego on December 9, 1531 and again later when her image miraculously formed on his tilma or cape. He had gathered flowers from the hillside in the dead of winter at her direction in order to show the Bishop proof of his vision of the Virgin. She told him not to open the cape full of flowers until he was with the Bishop and when he arrived, low and behold, the flowers dropped to the floor and the famous image of the Virgin took their place on his cape. The Virgin of Guadalupe is called the Patroness of the Americas and is one of the most beloved images of the Virgin Mary.  Juan Diego was canonized in 2002.

Two Essential Tools For Antique Rosary Owners

I just picked up one of my own antique rosaries and lo and behold, it was in two pieces! I keep quite a few pairs of tiny round nosed pliers handy and within a minute or two I had it hooked back together. I would strongly advise all antique and vintage rosary owners to keep a little pair of round nosed pliers close by for small rosary emergencies. These are easy to find in a bead shop or online. Look for pliers for beaders, some are actually called rosary pliers or wire wrapping pliers. Be sure to get the round nosed ones so you don't damage the links on the rosary. My favorite pair is the tiniest one I have. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got them or I would get another pair just like them- the diameter of the tips of the pliers are tiny and they are simply perfect for antique rosaries.
The other tool I use almost constantly is a good magnifying lens. Again, I have several, but my favorite is a small one with an LED light and stand. I can work under the lit lens perfectly. Others are used to help identify hallmarks or bead material. A good jeweler's loop works well for all purposes.

 

Interesting rosary with multicolored enamel spacers on The Sacred Bead. This isn't the one that needed the repair this morning, just thought a post without a picture would be rather boring!

Antique Rosaries from Lourdes

Undoubtedly the most frequently found rosaries from France, both new and antique, are the wonderful rosaries from the site of Mary's appearance to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Millions and millions of people have gone to Lourdes for healing, and there are over 60 officially recognized miraculous healings that have occurred at Lourdes in a century and a half. There may be thousands of unrecognized healings!
Most pilgrims come away with a souvenir of their journey to Lourdes, and rosaries from Lourdes have a long tradition of making a lasting reminder of a journey to the healing waters of Lourdes. Beautiful sterling and natural coral were popular yet expensive rosaries  during the 1800s. Rare and beautiful today, they were a true treasure then as they are now. More moderate rosaries had simple wooden beads and crucifixes. In the mid-20th century many crucifixes had a tiny vial of healing water from the Grotto of Lourdes embedded in the crucifix. One of the most interesting of the modern rosaries is the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Mary at Lourdes featuring little bubble beads made of lucite that were rumored to have been filled with healing water. Each of the Ave beads has a tiny blue Mary inside, while the Pater beads usually have the Sacred Heart of Jesus inside. Pictured are just a few rosaries from the famous Lourdes found on The Sacred Bead. The Sacred Bead has an amazing selection of antique rosaries for sale, also vintage rosaries and antique and vintage crucifixes.

 The famous 100th Anniversary Rosary from 1958, note the tiny blue images inside each bead and the grotto of Lourdes on the center.

 

This beautiful 1800s single decade sterling and mother of pearl rosary has "Lourdes" impressed on the back of the cross and would have been a treasured reminder of a pilgrimage to Lourdes. 

 Late 1800s French Jet (black glass) mourning rosary with ND de Lourdes imprinted on the back of the crucifix.

 Beautiful rosary from Lourdes. Note the lovely red faceted glass beads. See all of them on The Sacred Bead.

Antique Rosaries with Jet Beads

Jet beads are renowned as mourning beads, at the height of their popularity during Victorian times. But few of the black beads found on jewelry or rosaries are truly jet. More likely they are black glass, known as "French Jet." Other substances used to simulate jet included man-made compounds like gutta percha.


True jet is a carbonaceous mineral related to lignite coal. It is relatively soft for a gemstone and very light weight. Compared to glass, which is much heavier, true jet beads feel more like amber, another very lightweight natural substance.
Whitby jet was produced in the jet mines of England and is no longer a source for jet. Highly expensive and rare, Whitby jet was at its height of popularity during the reign of Queen Victoria, although jet has been used as an adornment since ancient times.
Today, most jet beads are produced in China and they are quite lovely.

This is a beautiful antique French mourning rosary using glass "French Jet" beads. You can find it on The Sacred Bead.

Buying an Antique or Vintage Rosary - An Eco-Friendly Choice

For some of us, concern for the environment is a life-long commitment, for others it is an equally heart-felt but new concern. It doesn't matter where you are on this spectrum, the important thing is that purchasing an antique or vintage rosary really is an eco-friendly choice. It is a form of effective concept of recycling and reusing an item rather than buying something new. The Sacred Bead has a wonderful selection of antique rosaries for sale to help you pick the perfect rosary for yourself or a friend.
Just think, there is no mining, no manufacturing, only transportation via the postal service. It drastically reduces your carbon footprint! Not only do you save resource and energy, you have a piece of history and an exceptional work of art unlike anything produced today. The Sacred Bead has the largest selection of antique and vintage rosaries in one place on the internet! So come visit and be a part of the growing green consumer revolution. Our beautiful planet appreciates every effort. I try to use recycled packaging materials whenever possible so don't be surprised if your rosary comes in a peppermint candy tin or is wrapped with slightly used bubble wrap!

 Coral reefs around the world are dying at an alarming rate. Antique rosaries have beautiful natural Mediterranean coral unlike the dyed coral used today. Coral harvesting is now regulated and restricted by law, so buying an antique coral rosary is the most ecologically sound way to have a rosary made of this incredibly beautiful natural material. This rosary is in a private collection.

 Beautiful antique rosary with red glass beads from France.

 Very unusual 1800s rosary with sterling, mother of pearl and antique glass beads.

 Fabulous antique rosary with lapis lazuli beads. The lapis mines in Afghanistan have been mined for thousands of years and are reaching the end of their existence. Deep blue lapis like this is almost impossible to get new.

This is a gorgous vintage sterling and crystal Creed rosary, a fabulous example of a beautifully preserved vintage rosary by one of the leading rosary manufacturers in the world. See dozens of unique antique and vintage rosaries at The Sacred Bead.

Time for Another Warning About Rosaries with Added Skulls on eBay

I know I've already posted about the several sellers on eBay who have added modern carved ox bone skulls made in China to vintage and antique rosaries AND not been honest about saying they are modern additions, but after searching rosary + skull on eBay tonight I see the trend seems to be expanding. Before you ever buy an antique or vintage rosary with an attached skull, look at the seller's other items. If you see rosary after rosary with little skulls hanging off of them, all looking very much like the little skulls that are from modern Buddhist malas or ones found in online bead stores, then you should question the seller about the time period that the skull was added to the rosary. I've actually asked several sellers, receiving no reply from one and an admission from another that yes, she adds them. Unfortunately, without asking, you probably won't be told this in the auction.
None of this wouldn't matter IF people knew that the skull is not original to the rosary. Adding a skull bead that cost mere pennies does not increase the value of a rosary by a hundred or more dollars. Bidding is fierce on some of these rosaries and it really disturbs me that people are paying their hard earned money for something that is not authentic.
I make new rosaries using skull beads, so I am quite familiar with them. I also have quite a few rosaries with authentic antique skulls attached in my private collection. There is an enormous difference between the two. You can see my prior post from November, 2010 for pictures of authentic skull beads and how they are attached to the rosary- they are not dangling from them!
I am also seeing a trend in attaching a small, deep red tear drop shaped bead and selling these as antique rosaries with a drop of blood bead. Again, if you see the same dealer with numerous rosaries with the same bead, attached in the same way, it is a good clue that it is a recent addition.
When you have a favorite rosary, you can add whatever you like to it to help with meditative prayer. It is selling the rosary without informing the buyer that it is a modern addition that seems less than honest.

Antique Rosaries With Mother of Pearl Beads

 Antique rosaries featuring mother of pearl beads have a delicate beauty as in this antique French MOP and gold gilt rosary from the beginning of the 20th century. It and the other rosaries featured can be found at The Sacred Bead. If you are thinking about buying an antique rosary, The Sacred Bead has one of the most extensive collections of beautiful antique rosaries in all price ranges on the internet!

 Lovely hand-cut mother of pearl beads show the reflective quality of natural shell. Note, both the center and crucifix are of mother of pearl.

 Very similar in style, but note the uniformity of the beads and difference in the style of chain- this is a slightly newer rosary than the one above.

 A true treasure-this beautiful antique rosary has a lovely shell case. Note the darker color of the shell used in this rosary and the unusual squared shape of the beads.

For millennium, people have made beads of shell. Some of the earliest beads found in archeological sites are drilled shell beads. The beauty and hardness of shell made it the perfect material for bead making. Mother of pearl, also called nacre, is from the shells of mollusks and is especially beautiful due to its iridescent reflectivity. The way it almost glows and changes appearance made it especially valued for not only beads but buttons, inlays in musical instruments and furniture and for many other decorative uses.
Cleaning mother of pearl rosaries should be done very carefully and with a minimum of product use. The only really safe thing is a gentle soap, not detergent, something like a bar of pure soap with a soft toothbrush is plenty. Wash your hands before touching mother of pearl or coral beads as the oils, lotions or other products can cause the beads to dull.
Antique rosaries from the 19th century were frequently made using mother of pearl beads. Some of the earlier rosaries used hand-cut beads, each of a slightly different shape and sometimes quite crude in appearance. Towards the end of the century and into the 20th century, most beads were much more uniform in appearance, many of them were machine cut. Sizes range from large beads, some over an inch in size for large processional rosaries, to tiny oval beads used on lovely antique rosaries with gold gilt or sterling silver metalwork. Some of the most beautiful rosaries have mother of pearl crucifixes and centers.

 Beautifully designed crucifix made of mother of pearl and silver above and a fabulous antique mother of pearl and silver, over 4" crucifix below. There were many faux MOP crucifixes made in the mid-20th century made of celluloid- meant to look like these authentic MOP crucifixes.

I will be adding many more antique French rosaries to The Sacred Bead in the coming month and many will have gorgeous antique MOP beads! Mother of pearl is one of my favorite natural materials, and the mysterious way it plays with light makes it a perfect material for meditative prayer.
I love answering questions about antique rosaries and will always answer them! Feel free to email me at The Sacred Bead. Visit the site and email from there please, you'll find a contact form and email links.

Religious Medals on Antique Rosaries

Frequently, rosaries from the French influenced areas of Canada and throughout Europe have a variety of religious medals attached. Dating back centuries, the practice of attaching medals obtained during various religious pilgrimages proliferated in Europe and continues to today. Enjoy some pictures of antique rosaries with attached medals from Canada and Europe that are currently on The Sacred Bead. The Miraculous Medal is, without a doubt, the most commonly added medal found on rosaries.

Note the use of antique aluminum medals on this 15 decade antique rosary.

An Irish Horn rosary with an attached Miraculous Medal.

Art glass beads and a beautiful blue enamel medal of Mary grace this exquisite antique rosary.

An exceptional 15 decade rosary from a convent in Belgium. Note the carved skull bead on the rosary. Now in a private collection.

This incredible bronze medal of St. Franscis is on a Fransiscan Crown rosary also in a private collection.

Lovely crystal and sterling rosary with several pretty medals attached.

1950s Civelli Rosary

 
Here is a little history on the Civelli Rosary. There are several versions and different colorations but all were produced in the 1950's and designed by the Italian sculptor Civelli. They were made of "Ivorine" which is a plastic resin material similar to celluloid. One type of this rosary is the 1950's Civelli Rosary with Regina Pacis, Queen of Peace, center with relic soil from the Catacombs of Rome embedded in the reverse of the center. The beads portray the Litany of the Blessed Virgin and the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Latin inscriptions are on the reverse of each bead. The original tag "Made in Italy" and "Marque Depose" (Trade Marked) may be present on some rosaries. 

The first Civelli rosary is the famous Jubilee Year MCML (1950) Civelli Rosary. Originally designed by the famous Italian sculptor Civelli in the late 1940's for the 1950 Holy Year, this was the first issue of the rosary and has a center with the Holy Spirit and Anno Sancto (Holy Year) 1950 (in Roman Numerals MCML) on the reverse. The Civelli rosary is one of the few patented rosaries. 
 
These are incredibly beautiful rosaries, and are increasingly difficult to find. Although many have never been used, the ones that show wear from prayer are especially beautiful. The beads and crucifix  resemble ivory more and more as they age and are polished with touch.  I have rarely seen a broken Civelli rosary, so most are sturdy enough for continued daily use even though they are over 60 years old.

 The above Civelli rosary is somewhat worn from prayer and has a mellow aging that makes it even more lovely to behold. See it on The Sacred Bead.

Antique French Hollow Sterling Rosary Crucifixes and Centers

Simply gorgeous silver work from the French in the later half of the 19th Century! These are delicate, hollow, and marked with the French punched hallmark. Find this beautiful rosaries on The Sacred Bead, your source for the finest antique and vintage rosaries.

 Exquisite work on this beautiful crucifix.

 Note the three dimensional center, what I call a puffy heart center. Lovely workmanship.

This is a more typical example of a hollow silver crucifix from the 1800s. If you ever have questions about antique rosaries, feel free to email me at The Sacred Bead's email. I happily answer all questions and have advised people from around the world about the antique rosaries they own!

The 1800s Aluminum Story

Although aluminum is viewed as a cheap metal today, one that is virtually tossed away with the garbage, this hasn't always been the case. Collectors of antiques have some appreciation for the change in this metal's status over the centuries. Despite this, there is little market for aluminum objects, even those of superior workmanship and beauty.


If you read The Lost Symbol, you may have noticed the rather odd references to the high value of aluminum in the 1800s. This honestly was the case. Aluminum was a new and unique metal, durable, lightweight, and resistant to tarnishing. At the time, it was considered quite rare and valuable. The very top of the Washington Monument is overlaid in aluminum; it catches the sunlight and shines like silver. Although it is the most common element in the rocks of the earth, efficiently extracting it from the ore was puzzling and expensive, prohibiting its mining and use. Unlike silver and gold that occur in veins, aluminum is bonded to other elements in the rock, making extraction difficult.


For rosaries and religious medals, aluminum was highly prized during the late 1800s. Medals were lightweight and could be made with details not possible with other materials. Centers and crucifixes were made of aluminum in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today they aren't appreciated, but at the time, their intricate details were considered the latest technology and were quite desirable. Many antique rosaries have aluminum medals attached; they were prized for their beauty.


Collectors of religious medals can get fantastic bargains if they branch into antique aluminum medals. Owners and collectors of antique rosaries can gain a new appreciation for the metal when they consider how impressive it was at the time the rosary was created.


I rarely have aluminum medals or rosaries on my website; I am aware of the prejudice against the metal and how it affects the choices collectors make. I'd like to see the day when it is recognized for its historic value and appreciated for the role it played in advancing the technology of 19th century religious artifacts.

 Sweet little French rosary with coral red glass beads. Below is a Pocket Saint with brass case, the statue of Mary and Child is aluminum. These were treasured by soldiers and travelers as they could be kept safely in a pocket.

The two medals attached to this lovely old Irish Horn rosary are both aluminum. Note the crisp detail on the medals. Available on The Sacred Bead.

 This is a lovely example of an antique French rosary with aluminum crucifix and art glass beads. It is quite a bargain on The Sacred Bead!