Cultivating Devotion: The Sixteenth-Century Enclosed Gardens of the Low Countries

The Enclosed Gardens of Mechelen are extraordinary 16th-century reliquaries that frame not only relics but also papier-mâché seals, jewelry, poupées de Malines, glass beads and pilgrim badges against a background of silk vegetation. Together, these objects compose a garden enclosed by a gate as praised in the Song of Songs. These mixed-media shrines were assembled and organized by religious women during the 15th and 16th centuries. Seven of these Enclosed Gardens were cherished by the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Gasthuiszusters of Mechelen. The Gardens are a unique expression of the spiritual “horticulture” of the female convent. This horticulture is deeply rooted in the devotion to the Virgin Mary. This article not only explores the iconography of the Enclosed Gardens, but also the techniques and materials used for the making of the Enclosed Gardens and, additionally, how these influenced the devotional experience of religious women.

Publication year:2017