Oficio de la Semana Santa. [Texts for the Holy Week Masses].

Item Number: 90428

Madrid: En la Imprenta del Norte, 1815.

Scarce finely bound 19th century example of Oficio de la Semana Santa; an official text for the Spanish Holy Week masses. Quartos, ten volumes. Bound into six elaborately bound in full contemporary mottled calf with gilt tooling to the spine, red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, wide gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins, all edges speckled yellow and green, marbled endpapers. Text in Spanish and Latin. In fine condition. Exceptionally rare, OCLC records only one complete set (in the National Library of Spain) and one partial set (in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden).

The final week of Lent and week leading up to Easter, Holy Week includes Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Holy Week and Easter Day liturgies attract the biggest crowds of the year. Cultures throoughout the world have distinct traditions like Easter eggs, sculptures of Christ and Great Feasts to echo the theme of resurrection. A tradition dating from medieval times that has spread to other cities in Andalusia, the "Semana Santa en Sevilla" is notable for featuring the procession of "pasos", lifelike wood or plaster sculptures of individual scenes of the events that happened between Jesus's arrest and his burial, or images of the Virgin Mary showing grief for the torture and killing of her son.