Ecclesiastical Rattle c. 1939

Editor: We're looking at R.J. De Freitas' "Ecclesiastical Rattle," a watercolor drawing from around 1939. There's a stillness to it; the everyday object seems imbued with a kind of solemnity. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It's fascinating how De Freitas isolates this seemingly simple object. The rattle itself carries centuries of symbolic weight. Think of the pre-Columbian world, where rattles were instruments of ritual, tools to invoke the divine. And here, 'Ecclesiastical' explicitly connects it to the church, perhaps a call to prayer, a tool of the liturgy. But what emotions does the image of a rattle evoke in you? Does it resonate beyond the religious context? Editor: Definitely. There's also the child-like element – the rattle as a toy. It makes me think about the rituals of childhood, the comfort of familiar sounds, a memory almost forgotten. Curator: Precisely! So, we have layers here. On one hand, the serious history of faith. On the other, something deeply personal, a lost world of innocence. Even the material itself—wood, so tactile—speaks to something elemental in the human experience. Consider how simple objects accrue significance. The artist draws a potent symbol from ordinary life. Editor: I hadn't thought about the wood itself having a sort of… primal symbolism, bringing it back to basics! Thank you so much, this insight added many layers of depth to this work. Curator: And your observation connects it to our common humanity. That's where the image truly sings!