Note found inside an 18th century Jesus statue's bottom may be a 'time capsule'

Daily Mail ^ | 29 November 2017 | Ana Lacasa

[mairdie]

Restorers of an 18th century wooden statue of Jesus Christ have reportedly found a calligraphed note that a priest hid in the Messiah's rear end.

The note dates back to 1777 and is signed by Joaquin Minguez, priest of the cathedral of Burgo de Osma at the time, the statue's restorers claim.

It reportedly discusses popular Spanish pastimes, the local village's economy, political and religious matters, famous people, and other topics.

[mairdie]

Beautiful piece, and always exciting to find original documents.

[BenLurkin]

Interesting

[mairdie]

Makes one wonder what other sculptors put inside their hollow pieces. But probably better to use less physical means to find out.

[livius]

It was very common in the Middle Ages and probably until at least the 18th c in Northern Spain to leave a little box hidden in the altar where the priest or even the builders would leave details about the purchase of the land, or the item, or even completely random things such as their observations on a local event.

Hollowed out statues (not hard, since many of them were hollow to begin with) or architectural details were also sometimes used to hold the little box and its tiny scrolls.

[mairdie]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks mairdie.

[Libloather]

Cursive? Who can interpret that these days?