Le reliquaire du rosaire d’Eringhem

The reliquary of the Rosary at Eringhem. The church if Eringhem in northern Flanders exhibits an impressive silver piece composed of a sculpture of the Mother and Child offering a rosarv to saint Dominic, surrounded by fifteen carved medallions depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary, above an enshrined relic of the veil of the Virgin Mary. The sculpture, as well as the medallions, were created by François-Joseph Baudoux, the most famous silversmith master of Lille. This piece was ordered by the parish priest of Eringhem in 1771, most probably to celebrate the victory of Lepanto in 1551, due to the intercession of the Virgin of the Rosary, according to Pope Pius V. The silversmith responsible for the medallions of the Mysteries of the Rosary was greatly inspired by engraved works of French, Italian and Flemish artists. This reliquary, probably unique in France, may, indeed, constitute a particularly early commemorative work.