Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BATHTUB MADONNA
BATHTUB MADONNA. A "Bathtub Madonna" (also known as a lawn shrine, Mary on the Half Shell, Bathtub Mary, Bathtub Virgin, and bathtub shrine) is an artificial grotto typically framing a Roman Catholic religious figure including the Blessed Virgin Mary, another Catholic saint, or Jesus. It is rare to see more than one figure. (1) Bathtub Marys have been a popular form of Americana for generations. Kentucky has a lot of them, especially near the central Kentucky towns of St. Francis, Lebanon and Loretto, centers of Catholicism in the Baptist Bible Belt about an hour's drive from Lexington and Louisville. (2)
Often fashioned by burying one end of an old bathtub, similar designs have been factory produced. Factory produced enclosures sometimes have decorative features that recycled grottoes lack, such as fluting similar to that of a scallop shell. (3)
The grotto is sometimes embellished with brickwork or stonework, and framed with flowerbeds or other ornamental flora. The inside of the tub is frequently painted a light blue color, particularly if the statue is of Mary because of her association with this color. (4)
Once a common sight in heavily Catholic Dubuque, the grotto-like shelter for Mary was constructed by burying the front half of a cast iron bathtub in the ground and placing a statue of Mary inside. (5)
The inspiration for the shrines was probably the religious grottoes of European countries like Austria, Spain and Italy. The first local grottoes were probably constructed of such native materials as rock and wood. They were often placed on hillsides to simulate sites where Mary appeared to children in locations like Mexico City, Fatima, and Lourdes. It was thought that from a hillside, Mary could watch over the faithful below. (6)
Many of the local bathtub grottoes were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s. During those years, many people were replacing their original bathroom fixtures and looking for ways of using the old material. The bathtub offered a natural grotto shape forming a halo effect around the figurine. (7)
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Source:
1. "Bathtub Madonna," Revolovy, Online: https://www.revolvy.com/page/Bathtub-Madonna
2. Armstrong, David, "Kentucky's Bathtub Marys--Homespun Law Shrines," SF, Online: https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Kentucky-s-Bathtub-Marys-homespun-lawn-shrines-2310092.php
3. Revolovy
4. Ibid.
5. Nevans-Pederson, Mary, "Shrine Shift," Telegraph Herald, June 7, 2008, p. 1
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
