Home|Faith Hall (Hall 15)

Faith Hall (Hall 15)

This room features a collection of liturgical and devotional objects made up of more than 2000 pieces.

The first six showcases on the right, as we enter the gallery, are filled with numerous reliquaries as well as scallop shells and emblems, which serve as symbols of religious orders and congregations. From a technical standpoint, the works in gold and silver are of special note. These small objets d'art are made using a variety of shapes, techniques and materials including gold, silver, glazes and filigree work. The reliquary, a receptacle that contains saintly relics, is the featured piece. They appear here in the shape of a heart, of a cross, as a triptych, or as a small chapel. In showcase 1, there are reliquaries that contain fragments of letters signed by Saint Theresa of Jesus and an interesting collection made up of small chapels and statues of Saint Anthony of Padua.

Other collections are also worth a look, like the small chapels and alms boxes in a large showcase located in the middle of the left-hand wall. Framed and displayed on the same wall is a collection of pellofes, coins for internal use by cathedrals, basilicas and other religious communities. Most of these are from churches in Barcelona.

The collection of votive offerings situated on the same wall section is composed of more than one hundred examples in engraved or embossed silver. Some of these also include small tablet paintings. Both types served as offerings of gratitude and hope and decorated the walls of sanctuaries.

Woodcut prints and engravings dedicated to saints are on view in the four turnstile showcases located in the center of the room.

Although the collection is dominated by popular devotional objects from the Christian faith, we must make note of one exception. On the table-showcase located at the back of the gallery, to the left as you enter the room, there are Jewish Torah pointers and sacred scrolls.