Novo-Hispanic School. Mexico. 18th century. Nun's Badge. Paint and embroidery on silk.   The Nun's Badge should be related to a practically identical example preserved at the Denver Art Museum (inv. no. 2013.360. https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2013.360). Our Nun's Badge is a rarity, as indicated in reference to theirs in the Denver Museum file: !This object is particularly unusual in that it is embroidered in silk thread and may originally have been a medallion on a church vestment before being re-purposed as a nun’s badge. Notably, the faces and hands of the figures have all been painted, suggesting the presence of more than one artist in the creation of this object.'   Our delicate and masterful nun's shield is embroidered in silk using the “flat embroidery” technique (the threads barely protrude from the fabric). We highlight its iconography: The Virgin Mary in the center, an Immaculate Ascended Virgin, with her hands on her chest and her soul pierced; the Holy Trinity flying above her and blessing her.  She is surrounded by four saints: Saint Michael the Archangel, as defender and protector against all evil, and Saint John of Nepomuk, as defender and protector of name and honor (on the left); Saint Anthony of Padua, who called the Virgin “princess, queen, lady, and our hope,” and Saint Barbara, protector against the dangers of lightning—in short, against evil—(on the right).   This format, characteristic of private and female devotions, highlights the delicate miniature work, linked to the Baroque tradition in novohispanic Mexico. Nun's medallions were objects of great symbolic value. They were a genre of devotional art that was very widespread during the 17th and 18th centuries in Spain and in the Novo-Hispanic world. The context in which these miniatures were created is deeply linked to 18th-century novohispanic religiosity, in a period when religious orders, especially women's orders, played a crucial role in devotional life. They were small painted or embroidered pictures with religious scenes, which the nuns wore on their chests when taking their vows. In classic portraits of crowned nuns, in addition to flowers, candles and other ornaments, the relevance of these coats of arms can be seen. The LACMA in Los Angeles, has a nun’s badge in its collection by the Mexican painter Francisco Martínez (Mexico, 1687-1758) dated circa 1750, with the central theme of The Annunciation surrounded by Saints. (Inv. M.2015.142.1). As Professor Ilona Katzew, Curator and Head of the Latin American Art Department at the LACMA in Los Angeles, notes with respect to these nun’s shields: 'This small-scale painting is a badge worn by nuns of the Order of the Immaculate Conception (also known as Conceptionists) in Mexico as part of their dress. Painted badges originated in Mexico in response to religious reforms introduced by the archbishop Francisco Manso y Zúñiga (ruled 1629-1635), who attempted to curtail the luxury and privilege of the convent lifestyle. He forbade nuns to wear shields made of gold, precious stones, and enamel. The nuns circumvented this rule by commissioning shields painted on copper or parchment and set into frames made of tortoiseshell. Many of the badges were painted by the best artists of the day'. On occasions, artists of the calibre of José de Páez, Luís Juárez or Miguel Cabrera made some of these badges.   Bibliographic reference: - Katzew, Ilona. (n.d.). “Nun’s Badge with the Annunciation and Saints”. LACMA. https://collections.lacma.org/node/2115912