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“Missionssammlungen ausgepackt” (Missionary Collections Unpacked)

The exhibition “Missionssammlungen ausgepackt” (Missionary Collections Unpacked) held at the ethnological Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne (3 October 2025 – 8 February 2026) included a piece of art from the Monumenta Serica Institute – the “Holy Mother of Sheshan” (Sheshan shengmu 佘山聖母), a wooden relief image (measuring 69 x 118 cm). The upper half of the picture shows Mary the Mother of God with the baby Jesus in her arms. She is standing on a semicircle of stylized clouds, surrounded by flying doves. Below her, one can see the Basilica of the Marian Shrine of Sheshan near Shanghai on a wooded hill. At the bottom of the picture, two Chinese pilgrims are depicted in a kneeling position, looking up in adoration at the Mother of God. The woman on the left holds a little child towards her, while the man on the right holds a staff and rosary. Between the pilgrims, a river with boats is visible at the foot of the hill in the background. The relief image is surrounded by a richly decorated, arched frame that alternately shows carvings of small groups of figures and trees with round fruits.

This piece of art was with high probability created in the Jesuit sculpture and woodcraft studios in Tushanwan 土山灣 (Ateliers de Sculpture et dʼÉbénisterie Tʼou-sè-wè) near Shanghai, where orphans were trained in arts and crafts as their future trade. As the image shows the old Basilica of Sheshan with a stout domed church tower, the relief most likely dates from the time between 1873 (construction of the original basilica) and 1925 (when the construction of the new Gothic style church was commenced, which was finished in 1935). Considering its high-quality craftsmanship, the wooden relief was possibly intended as an exhibit for the international missionary exhibition in the Vatican in the Holy Year 1925. Later, it was kept in the Jesuit Mission Museum in Bonn. At the end of the 1990s, Fr. Ludwig Wiedenmann SJ (1928–2020), then editor-in-chief of the journal Katholische Missionen in Bonn, donated the relief image to the Monumenta Serica Institute.

The “Sheshan shengmu” is an outstanding example of Christian art in modern China. It would be a worthwhile subject for in-depth art-historical research. Researchers are welcome to study it on site at the Monumenta Serica Institute.