Old French statue question

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Tis_Bearself

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I recently bought a couple of small old French saint statues on eBay. They came as a set.
The one on the right is the Infant of Prague, which is the statue I was searching for on eBay.

However, I’m not sure what the double statue on the left is that came as part of the set. The seller calls it a “double Infant of Prague” but having grown up with Infant of Prague statues in our home and church, and also having been to Prague to see the real one, I have never seen such a double statue of the Infant of Prague.

Therefore, I wondered if it was actually what the seller said it was, a “double Infant of Prague”, or was it something else, such as
  • a God the Father and God the Son representation
  • a Mary with Child Jesus representation
  • a saint portrayed with the Infant Jesus
Anybody know for sure?

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Normally, when you have two crowned figures, it’s a Mary Queen of Heaven. Because Jesus is King-- and a Jewish King’s queen is his mother. So you get Mary + Jesus crowned, to show that her Queenship comes through her son.

Normally, Jesus is held in her arms, or perhaps stands at her side. I haven’t seen any with him standing directly in front of her. But it was probably composed that way for easier casting.

Some examples of Mary Queen of Heaven–
 
I would second the theory that it’s Mary and Jesus. It seems like the larger figure is more feminine.
 
Oh-- dumb question, but I just saw-- do you have a clearer photo of the inscription? It seems to say “P” (something) “EUY” at the base.

It’s not giving me the impression of a French abbreviation, but it would be helpful to have a better idea of what it says.
 
if I may ask, how much were they?
What’s the material? silver?
 
The inscription at the foot of the statue on the left appears to read “N. D. du Puy” (please tell me if I’m reading it wrong), so I’ll guess this is Our Lady of Puy, perhaps better known as Our Lady of Good Help (Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours).

This article in French describes an image similar to the one portrayed by the statue (in the section “La première sainte image : Notre-Dame de la Roche”).

http://www.catholique-lepuy.fr/Notre-Dame-du-Puy.html

On y voit une Vierge assise, couronnée, voilée et nimbée, tenant son enfant sur le bras gauche et un sceptre fleurdelisé dans la main droite.

“We see the seated Virgin, crowned, veiled and haloed, holding her Son with her left hand and a fleur-de-lys scepter in her right.”

Though the text description doesn’t correspond exactly with your statue, there is an associated image that shows a striking similarity to the statue. (Click on the link above to see it - I can’t seem to get it to appear here.) So I think this is Our Lady of Good Help.
 
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Pffft, being able to understand French had to come in handy one day. 🙂

Incidentally, Notre-Dame du Puy (Our Lady of Puy), Notre-Dame de la Roche (Our Lady of the Rock), and Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help) all refer to the same image.
 
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They are little statues like 4 inches high. They cost about 32 dollars each on eBay. They are old. The material is not silver, it’s likely spelter which is a tin alloy.

I was looking for a little, sturdy Infant of Prague. My mother had a chalkware IOP about 4 inches tall with a gold robe when I was growing up. Unfortunately he fell off the dresser or shelf a couple times during our busy family life and is not in good shape. I have been looking for his twin for a while but have not found any statue that looks remotely like him. I bought this one thinking it may at least be resistant to breakage.
 
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Nice find!
Ebay is addictive in regards to vintage Catholic knicknacks…
 
I don’t have the statue in hand yet. The photo is from the person selling it.
Since it is small, I can probably take it to be blessed when I get it, along with some other small statues and crucifixes that I need to get blessed.
 
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Yes,nice,try to get some info on such things some background check or origin from where it is got from and whom, even spiritual icons and statues ,articles can be used for other purposes got to be careful though.
 
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The medal says Notre-Dame du Puy P. P. N. which means “Our Lady of Puy pray for us” (priez pour nous).
 
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