19th Century Saint Cyrus of Alexandria Retablo Print

18 1/4"H x 12 3/4"W x 1/2"D

A stunning Mexican creation. A crown tin retablo holds the original print of Saint Cyrus soldered into the frame.  Intricate work. A beautiful antique. Tin is complete with age appropriate patina. Original glass. 

Bottom right square is loose. Image of Saint Cyrus , Printed in Germany. Marked: "Imprimi permittitur Ordin.episc Limburgensis." Small oil stain on right. Number: 17179

 A Tid-Bit: Mexico tinwork was made to approximate the look of silver, at a time when the possession of silver by anyone unauthorized by the Spanish government was illegal. Tinsmiths realized once the Santa Fe Trail opened that much of the perishable freight being transported along the trail was sealed in tin cans, which once opened were discarded. By flattening out the tin and cutting and stamping the flat pieces, tinsmiths could produce works worthy of using as decoration in homes and churches. On some pieces, remnants of food and oil can labels can still be seen on the reverse of the tinwork.

Saint Cyrus: Saint Ciro (the Monk) was a noted physician in the city of Alexandria, in Egypt when it was part of the Roman Empire where he had been born and raised. He was a Christian and he treated the sick without charge, not only curing their bodily afflictions, but also healing their spiritual infirmities.
Ciro was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He earned the name of the money-less doctor because he never charged anyone, above all the poor, for his medical services to heal them.
The doctor from Alexandria not only healed their body, but also their spiritual needs, especially during the persecution of Christian’s throughout the Roman Empire.
Ciro and a fellow Monk John from Edessa went to the town of Canopo, a few miles from Alexandria, to help Atanasia and her three daughters, Eudossia, Teodota and Teotiste, who had been captured by Roman solders who were being tortured for their Christian faith.
They were not only beaten and burnt but once their bodies were covered with sores.
The torturers covered them with vinegar and salt to add to the excruciating pain.
The tradition of Dimostranza tells us how Saint Ciro was plunged in boiling pitch and how after surviving this torture was beheaded by the Romans.
His martyrdom and that of his fellow monk to bring comfort to this family took place on January 31st, in A.D. 303.