Woodblock: Sacred Names of Mary & Jesus
[Wood engraving]. [Woodblock of Sacred Names of Mary & Jesus]. S.l. [Italy]: s.n., s.a. [late 18th century]. [10.7 x 8.8 x 2.2cm], [1] woodblock. Stamped letters “M H” on side of block, partially preserved ink inscription in Italian on back, well preserved.
Original late 18th- or early 19th-century woodblock—very finely engraved—depicting the Sacred Name of Mary (crowned and atop a crescent moon) and the Sacred Name of Jesus as seen on the consecrated Eucharist wafer within its monstrance.
The block is not signed. The style of design suggests a late 18th-century date, and the fact that the block is engraved on the end grain suggests a date no earlier than that.
The letters “M H” within an oval are stamped on the side of the block. An Italian inscription on the back of the block is partially legible (“della parrocc[hia]?” “della Mise[…]” “dei”).
Early modern woodblocks of this sort are today only rarely encountered outside of a museum context.