Heart Burial Urn by Saint Anthony's Fire (Sculpture)

Sculpture by Saint Anthony's Fire For Sale

Title: Heart Burial Urn
Artist: Saint Anthony's Fire
Category: Sculpture
Medium: Ceramic bisque
Size (inches): 12
Year: 2024
Edition: Open Edition
Total no. of copies: 1
Shipping from: United States

SORRY, THIS ARTWORK HAS ALREADY BEEN SOLD

Artwork description

This vase/urn was inspired by the so called heart-burial traditions which were common around the area where I come from. It was mostly reserved for the royals and other prominent persons of medieval Europe. The heart would be removed from the body and burried separately in a different location, most often in a homeland of the deceased. Although they called it heart burial, the vessel would often contain not only that, but also all the entrails, since organ evisceration was done for embalming reasons. This practice survived unto the modern times. One of the most beautiful examples in my opinion, is the heart-burial of composer Frederic Chopin (d 1849). He himself requested his heart to be removed and taken back to Poland while his body remained in France. The heart was preserved in brandy and smuggled through Europe by his sister Ludwika. It was later sealed within a pillar of the Holy Cross Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście. The epitaph bears an inscription from Matthew VI:21: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”