Monday, June 04, 2012

My Uncle Antonio (Tony) de Irureta Goyena was a chemical engineer who most of his life worked for Dupont and for Kaiser Roth. In the latter job, in Greensboro, North Carolina, he was an expert in creating the finest nylon stockings money could buy. In the middle 60s he worked in Alexandria. While in Egypt he made it a hobby to explore Coptic churches armed with his beautiful Nikon rangefinder camera. In one of those churches he found this interesting early (perhaps circa 1900s) colour print in a dingy area of a church near Port Said. He took a picture and gave me, some years later, a copy of his colour slide (an Italian brand called Ferrania). Here is a scan. The slide was not a good one so I have done the best to correct some of the flaws and bring in the details. My guess is that she is some sort of Coptic Virgin Mary. As to why she seems to be missing an arm I do not know.