Our Lady of Boulogne-sur-Mer Pendant

The Virgin was venerated at Boulogne-sur-Mer because an unmanned boat carrying her statue was reported to have sailed into the harbor there in 633 CE. In this pendant sign the statue is shown with its hand on the tiller to indicate that the Virgin is steering the boat. This sign is meant to be sewn to a garment or suspended from a small brooch with a ring. Ours is copied after an example dated 1400-1500, found in Nieuwlande.

This is one of a relatively small number of pilgrim signs where there are extant parodies, in this case an obscene – and profane – brooch of a woman in a boat that was clearly based on images of Our Lady of Boulogne.