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Art Treasures at Mount Carmel |
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“For where
Chair of Mary Frances Clarke.
If the Mt. Carmel complex in Dubuque is the heart of BVM life, it most certainly holds our material treasures. The corridors of our buildings are filled with beautiful pieces of art, much of it created by our own sisters. Some pieces, newly re-discovered during the renovation, are on display for the first time in the expanded Heritage Rooms of the Motherhouse. A quick glance also reveals Hummel figurines, Waterford crystal, antique furniture, oil paintings and watercolors as well as needlework and photography. Many were gifts to the sisters from family members or former students. One treasure is a large oil painting of Dubuque in 1906 as viewed from Mt. Carmel painted by newly rediscovered artist Joseph Walter. Another is a Madonna figurine from Oberammergau, Germany. The foyer of the BVM Center is appointed with ornate oriental furniture purchased right off the dock when the brother of now deceased Jean Evelyn Menster, BVM served as a Navy chaplain. BVM History in Tangible Form But some of our most special treasures are simple artifacts made or used by our sisters in the earliest days of our congregation. Among these are two items which survived the fire that pushed our sisters out of Philadelphia before coming to Dubuque: Mother Clarke's trunk and a badly singed fragment of an antependium (cloth piece in front of altar) painted with a colorful grape design.
Several artifacts give a glimpse of life at St. Joseph 's on the Prairie, the original Motherhouse outside of Dubuque. Two butter molds suggest that great care was used when celebrating special occasions.
Occasions were also remembered by receiving a special holy card. In our collection is a card from the conclusion of the first retreat our sisters made dated January 1, 1845. The card includes a prayer and the names of each sister who made the retreat. Other cards remember the Golden Jubilee of Mother Cecilia Dougherty, the death of Mother Clarke, the first profession of BVM Cassian Walsh. Several lavishly decorated cards were gifts to Fr. Terence J. Donaghoe. Each card is adorned with an image from scripture or a saint or a Madonna and typically the backside of the card is hand signed by the person who gave it. These are treasures indeed!! Also in the collection are three “Agnus Deis.” These are small cakes of wax mixed with chrism which are impressed with a figurine of a lamb and blessed by the pope. They are given to celebrate the seventh year of a pope's reign.
Finally, a list of treasures would not be complete without mentioning those of Mother Isabella Kane. In the collection are the palate and brushes she used to create countless works. On display is a black velvet table cloth, painted with grapes, a gift to Bishop Henry Rohlman of Davenport in the 1930s.
About the author: Amy Golm, BVM is campus minister at Clarke College, Dubuque, and a graduate student in theology. Her grandmother, an antique collector, nurtured her interest in historical treasures. Return to Table of Contents. |
