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Reliquary Statuette and Hair Medallion of St. Mary Magdalene
Johann Potthoff (†1626)
1622/23
Statuette: silver, gilded | Hair medallion: textile
Domschatz Münster, Inv.-Nrn. E.88, DK.2023.2
Inscription: AD HONOREM DIVINAE MAIESTATIS ET DEVOTIONIS GRATIA ERGA SANCTAM MARIAM MAGDALENAM SVMMAM AMICAM DEI REVERENDVS AC PRAENOBILIS D. OTTO A DORGELOH DE BREDTBERGH CATHEDRALIVM ECCLESIARVM MONASTERIENSIS PRAEPOSITVS ET OSNABRVGENSIS CANONICVS SENIOR FIERIFECIT ANNO
[1623 / To the honor of the Divine Majesty and out ofdevotion to Saint Mary Magdalene, the greatest friendof God, the honorable and noble Lord Otto von Dorgelo of Brettberg—Provost of the cathedral churches of Münster and Senior Canon of Osnabrück—had this made in the year 1623]
Mary Magdalene has been venerated from an early period as Equal to the Apostles and Apostle of the Apostles. The hair and statuette are a donation from a cathedral canon.
Hair represents a popular form of relic and keepsake. It can be obtained without damaging the body. The inventory of 1622 also lists hair from Mary and the apostles Andrew and John.
From an early date, Mary Magdalene was venerated as an equal to the apostles and the "Apostle to the Apostles." The hair and the statuette were donated by a canon.
Hair was a popular form of relic and keepsake, as it could be obtained without damaging the body. The inventory of 1622 also lists hair belonging to Mary and the apostles Andrew and John.
Mary Magdalene is mentioned in all four Gospels. She is accorded special prominence in the Gospel of John: the risen Jesus appears to her first, rather than to the twelve apostles. However, it was not until 2016 that she was accorded liturgical status equal to that of the apostles.
The saint is depicted wearing the fashionable attire of the 17th century. The donor of the figure and the hair relic—Otto von Dorgelo (1565–1625)—prominently immortalized himself on the base. Donations and gifts were a vital source for the cathedral treasury; in return, donors sought spiritual aid for the salvation of their souls.
