Crucifix of Princess Louise of France

Late 18th-century bronze crucifix depicting Christ in agony, arms outstretched, head bowed, with finely sculpted anatomical detail and a deeply expressive face, draped in a flowing loincloth with pronounced folds, surface aged to a rich patina. A personal gift from King Louis XV to his daughter Louise, later known as Sister Thérèse of Saint Augustine, who entered the Carmelite convent of Saint-Denis in 1770. The crucifix was kept in her monastic cell and later hidden by the congregation during the French Revolution to protect it from desecration. Preserved for generations in the attic of the sacristy of a small countryside chapel abandoned for over a century, with crumbling walls, rotting beams, dusty terracotta floors, broken windows, and forgotten liturgical relics. Discovered inside a decayed wooden chest beneath a shelf, the crucifix was restored with care and reverence, standing as a silent witness to devotion, memory, and royal piety.
Doktor Lazarus Archaeologist, Historian, Collector, Indipendent Curator