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God-in-a-Bottle
Folk art, old whiskey bottle with a crucifix and instruments associated with the Passion inside, silver cap, full of water.
Folk art, old whiskey bottle with a crucifix and instruments associated with the Passion inside, including a ladder, pliars, spear and hammer. Bottle has a silver cap, full of water almost up to the neck. The water is greenish in colour.
This ‘God-in-a-Bottle’ was given to the donor in 1970 as a wedding present by James O’Connell (1886-1976), Cloncoleman, Ballynacally, County Clare.
James bought the item at a fair for ten shillings in the 1930s or the 1940s. He did not have a name for the object, but he valued it as a permanent source of Holy Water in the household.
‘God-in-Bottle’ is a variation in the ship-in-the-bottle art form, except with religious rather than maritime fittings. Such bottles were used in the 19th century by Irish Catholics as devotional objects or as a talisman, though versions of the tradition were found elsewhere in Europe. They are often associated with the Irish diaspora, particularly in Britain and Australia.
Later examples were often made by Irish Travellers. It is possible this is one of them.
Collection: Mary Lucy O'Connor
Category: Religious/Ritual Equipment