QUOTE(marduk @ Mar 31 2005, 10:48 PM)
QUOTE(TraJikMaJik @ Apr 1 2005, 05:12 AM)
Hello, my mother purchased a piece of furnite from the Black Forest, so it was advertised to her. The carving on this piece of furniture is very detailed, every piece being hand crafted to perfection. On this piece of furniture it has the inscription TRYN IACOPS (or IAGOPS) In between TRYN, AND IACOPS THERE IS A FLOWER (not sure if it is meant to be an O also) with the date of 1720 under it.
Now what makes this piece of furniture interesting is that inside a secrect compartment there is an old hand carved statue, of a woman in robes, with some sort of Crown, holding a baby. There is an inscription on the statue with the letters [SIZE=7]ND [SIZE=1]DE [SIZE=7]FOY. With an inscription on the back of R.I. or R.1.
I can think of nothing but this baby being baby jesus.. Or possibly, a baby of jesus? If anyone could help me with interpreting what this statue is, and means, I would be greatful.. Thank you ahead of time.
It is a dutch piece. The inscription stands for Tryntje and Jacob. It was customary to give pieces of furniture like this to couples on their wedding days back then.
The statue i'm afraid can't be as old as the furniture. The inscription stands for ND= Netherlands DE = deutchsland and FOY i am unsure of. If youre in america I'd say it stood for friends of yosemite. R.I. on the back sounds like a origin stamp. Guess you need to find an associated country with R.I.
I shall leave that bit to you
Thx for the reply on the furniture marduk.. However, i feel you are wrong on the statue.. ND de Foy has something to do with Black Madonnas. And White Madonnas.. They were religous artifacts usually held in sanctuaries and churches. Most of these artifacts are in Museums or private collections. They were hidden in places to keep them from destruction of the Turks who were invading at the time. Usually made of Wood (Which this one is) and some made of stone. The black madonna was used as a artifact of holyness used by the templars.. When you hold the figure up to the sun, it will turn black.
Sorry if im giving somewhat uncertain information.. But after seeing pictures of the black madonna/white madonna, I know for a fact, this is what I am holding.. If any of you can find more info, it would be appreciated, Also I will be searching more myself..
Ahhh and another piece of info I found, Another ND de Foy, Was found in an ancient Oak tree by a woodcrafter on July 6th, 1609, and was lost in the 1840's, and later recovered.. So I think it is safe to say, that it is quite possible this figurine is way older then the furniture it was hidden in.
Edited by TraJikMaJik, 01 April 2005 - 05:06 AM.
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) so I had to go back and add a space to it. 
You should take the madonna to an antique dealer and try to get an age or artist, If it has been in a secret compartment for centuries it could be really valuable.
