Wholesale Saint Thérèse of Lisieux with roses – Antique polychrome plaster statue

The face is calm, almost silent. Saint Thérèse holds against her the crucifix surrounded by roses that is enough to identify her above all others. This image of the young Carmelite belongs to one of the most singular chapters of early 20th-century French religious history. Thérèse Martin entered the Carmel of Lisieux at fifteen and led a brief, cloistered life there. She died in 1897, at only twenty-four. Beatified in 1923 and then canonized in 1925, she became Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. The roses that accompany her echo that “shower of roses” she had promised as the symbol of the graces she would continue to bestow after her death. In polychrome plaster and about 30 cm high, she follows the iconography that became emblematic of Thérèse. The brown Carmelite habit, the large light cloak, the dark veil and, held close to her heart, the crucifix and the roses. Time has deeply affected its paint. The light cloak shows an attractive old craquelure and numerous lifts and flakings of polychromy. Restoration should be considered to consolidate and preserve this now fragile polychromy. But there remains something particularly moving in this example. The face has retained its softness, the hands still encircle the roses, and the faded colors tell of nearly a century of presence. Restored with restraint, it would regain a very fine appearance without it being necessary to completely erase what time has left on it. Height approximately 30 cm. France, circa 1925–1940.