Featured would like to know about this rosary

dear all

i believe this belonged to my uncle, the only family member who was catholic. we have a very old eurasian/portuguese community in penang and was wondering if this is a typical eurasian/portuguese rosary. the cross is missing and i cannot find it anywhere. are the beads plastic?

regards
phaik hooi

 

Wow, Phaik, that certainly is unusual! The beads are Chinese bone beads that you see a lot on 19th and early 20th century necklaces.
The Mary figure is a famous French one, the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal or Virgin of the Rue du Bac (Paris), who appeared to Catherine Labouré in 1830. She was also very popular in other countries.
Here is something on the Mary figure:
http://www.chapellenotredamedelamed...sh/apparitions-et-la-medaille-miraculeuse-gb/
If you scroll down the page you will find the letters as well.

 

Are you sure the beads are bone and not tagua? I have a handful of tagua carved beads that are similar and I found at least one tagua rosary online

 

No, but the ones I've seen were always bone. Does tagua crack like that?

 

That I don't know. The ones I have are not cracked. I stopped making necklaces long ago, but haven't gotten rid of all the beads and bead supplies.

 

I don't think I've ever seen cracks in tagua nut carvings, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

 

3:04AM
the design on the beads, linking circles, is it a french design? and has it got some deeper meaning? was looking through google images and i spotted a few with the same carved design. fyi: the small beads are 0.2" and the larger ones are about 0.3".

 

Phaik, please go to bed. Don't wear yourself out over a rosary.

Chinese made, exported all over the world. If there is a meaning it could be circle=heaven in Chinese tradition, but I think it was just an easy design.

 

Nice rosary, Bev.

 

nite nite all!

 

Sleep tight.

 

That's the one I found online. I have to go up in my work room and open boxes to find the similar beads I have. Looking at the rosaries, I now think my beads weren't from a necklace