Santa María de Ujué

The titular image of the sanctuary, Our Lady of Ujué, is a wood carving covered with silver plates dating from the second half of the 12th century. It corresponds to the model de Sedes Sapientiae or Throne of Wisdom, in which Mary serves as a throne for her son. Following the division between this subject of virgins in Navarre, it derives from the group of Pamplona and Irache, with which it also shares the covering of silver plates. It is a seated image of great hieratism, in which Mary looks straight ahead with her arms bent at right angles in a parallel position, framing, but not touching, Jesus, who sits on his mother's lap and also looks straight ahead, towards the viewer, without there being contact between the two figures. There is no representation of an emotional bond between them, and the dehumanisation with which they are depicted emphasises the fact that Mary serves as a throne not for her son, but for the representation of the second of the divine persons, who personifies wisdom. Attached to the throne on which the Virgin sits were four reliefs imitating seals with the figures of the Pantocrator and the Virgin of Rocamador and six coats of arms painted in glass imitating enamel, four with the arms of France and two with those of Navarre, now reused in the new arrangement. The image underwent an extensive restoration in 1952, the date of its canonical coronation, in which the silver backing was added in its colour and gilt, the author of which was the goldsmith Juan José García (1893-1962) from Madrid.