Holy Week in Lorca
The brotherhood expands its gallery of women of the Old Testament and presents an imposing cloak of the Jewish woman along with those of Holofernes and Aquior
The premieres of Paso Blanco revolve this Easter around Judith, one of the strong women of the Bible, who saved the Hebrew city of Betulia from its executioner, the Assyrian general Holofernes, whom she beheaded while he slept. Her cloak, made of lilac velvet, presides over the extraordinary exhibition at the Paso Blanco Embroidery Museum (muBBla) since yesterday. It measures 2.75 meters long by 1.75 meters wide, and the central medallion depicts a tragic scene embroidered on silk in which Judit wields the sword with which she beheaded Judit in one of her hands. Holofernes and in the other the head of this.
Everything is studied in detail, the determined gesture on the face of the Jewish woman after saving the people of Israel, the colorful embroidery of the clothing in contrast to the white of the blouse, the light it gives off and the iridescent tones that surround her figure. . The president of Paso Blanco, Ramón Mateos, highlighted that Judit is one of the first biblical figures that appeared in the biblical-symbolic processions of Holy Week in 1852, which was then represented by a girl who paraded on Palm Sunday. She is a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary who defeats evil personified by Holofernes.
The Whites will put three goldsmith Assyrian-Babylonian combat chariots into the race for the first time
The president of the artistic commission of Paso Blanco, Aureliano Ortega, said that women have always been protagonists in many of the groups of the white procession and recalled that the first one to procession was Jephthé’s daughter together with her father in a carriage. four horses in 1885, which was “an important reference at the time”. He also cited Esther, Saint Helena, Bathsheba and the Queen of Sheba. “This year we continue that tradition by staging the book of Judith” in which “a brave and intelligent woman manages to save her people from a more than certain death.”
27,100 working hours
The design of Holofernes’s mantle, made of tile-colored velvet, is modernist in style; the plant motifs and the color of the silks used are inspired by the embroideries of the 1920s, created in the Paso Blanco workshops. The piece measures 2.40 meters long by 1.30 meters wide, and the center is adorned with a medallion with the bust of the general in profile, embroidered in gold with his curly beard, almond-shaped eye and crown with horns, recurrent in Assyrian art.
The infantry of Nebuchadnezzar II joins the procession with five archers and 45 soldiers
The third character who joins the procession is Aquior, the mercenary who was part of Holofernes’s army and who converted to the faith of the God of Israel. He wears a two-piece suit inspired by the garments worn by dignitaries in Assyrian reliefs and is embroidered in gold and silks on white and green velvet.
Judith, Holofernes and Aquior will lead the first Assyro-Babylonian chariots of the white procession. Their chariots are for combat and have been made with refined gold and silver metalwork. With the chiselling-repoussé technique, motifs of Assyrian art have been introduced on the sides. Judith’s has two winged bulls, Holofernes’s carries elements of weaponry such as a quiver, shield and sword, and Aquior’s has two quivers with spears.
A new chariot for Pharaoh Siamón has also been made, with golden metalwork with classic motifs from Egyptian iconography.
The brotherhood will also debut a new Assyrian-Babylonian infantry that will be included in the procession of King Nebuchadnezzar II and is made up of five archers and 45 soldiers. They all wear gold and silk embroidered suits typical of this civilization and the wristbands, belts, bows and quivers have been made in the Casa del Paso Blanco.
The fifteen embroiderers of the workshops of the brotherhood have dedicated 27,100 hours of work to the elaboration of the pieces that are released this year and that yesterday, in the presentation, were praised by the mayor, Diego José Mateos, and several councilors of the corporation . The premieres occupy a preferential position in the muBBla, which can be visited until Holy Thursday.
restored throne
The throne of Saint John the Evangelist, which will go out in procession on Palm Sunday, has been restored in the Hijos de Esteban Jiménez workshops, in the Granada city of Baza, where it was created. As main novelties, they highlight the reform of the internal structure to increase its dimensions; the new lower box, which has been added to the central body that gives it more height; and the renovation of the upper cresting that enriches the whole.
The brotherhood has also restored the throne of the Holy Christ of Prayer in the Garden for the replacement of elements damaged by friction during the procession. The main novelty is the incorporation on the front of a golden eagle made in a workshop in Egypt.
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