
Sebastian Kuhn
Department Director
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Department Director

Head of Department, Director

Head of Sale
Provenance:
Brigitte Britzke Collection, Bad Pyrmont
Literature:
La Porcelana de Meissen en la Colección Britzke/Das Meissner Porzellan der Britzke-Sammlung, exhibition catalogue (2009), p. 419
Exhibited:
Fundación Caja Segovia, La Porcelana de Meissen en la Colección Britzke 1709-1765, 16 July to 18 November 2009
These pilgrims wear scallop shells, which have long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, perhaps the most famous pilgrim destination in Europe. The scallop shell acts as a metaphor in several ways. The grooves in the shell, which meet at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims travelled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela. The shell can also be seen as a symbol of God's omnipresence for the pilgrim: As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up onto the shores of Galicia, God's hand guides the pilgrims to Santiago.