The Virgin and Child (the Virgin with Rosary)

The brass tablet, called a fumi-e, was made in the 17th century as a tool to expose Christians. It was securely locked in the magistrate’s office to prevent it from becoming an object of worship. How was this brass fumi-e – literally, a treading picture – used? Its story tells much of the social conditions of the time, the lives of the people, and the place of religion in society.