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Virgin of Marseille or santibelli * in polychrome and gilded terracotta, representing the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus by her side, standing on a terrestrial globe decorated with stars, vintage late 19th-early 20th centuries.
This Virgin is in good condition and is of good quality.
A note: some wear and lack of polychromy and gilding, some soiling and wear of time, see photos.
The " Santibelli " are statuettes generally around forty centimeters high . Molded in terracotta , but also in plaster , from Italy , they are painted in very bright colors , sometimes sprinkled with glitter, or gold leaf . The origin of the name of these statuettes is difficult to define: here we evoke a very Marseille nickname which describes as " Santibelli " the idiot of service , the sympathetic fool and not really smart . There, we imagine that " Santibelli " comes from the cry of the Italian sellers who, according to tradition, peddled these objects: " Santi ... Belli ... "; like a cry from the street , which in a short cut would have remained to designate these statuettes sold at auction .
