Statue of the Black Virgin, based on Ismeria, the Soudanese daughter of the sultan of Cairo El-Afdhal, who saved the lives of French knights during the Crusades, converted to christianity and married Robert d'Eppes, son of Guillaume II of France, on the High Altar, made 1610 in Italian Renaissance style, donated by Marie de Medici, wife of Henri IV, on the birth of Louis XIII, in the Basilica of Liesse Notre Dame, built 1134 in Flamboyant Gothic style by the Chevaliers d'Eppes, then rebuilt...
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Statue of the Black Virgin, based on Ismeria, the Soudanese daughter of the sultan of Cairo El-Afdhal, who saved the lives of French knights during the Crusades, converted to christianity and married Robert d'Eppes, son of Guillaume II of France, on the High Altar, made 1610 in Italian Renaissance style, donated by Marie de Medici, wife of Henri IV, on the birth of Louis XIII, in the Basilica of Liesse Notre Dame, built 1134 in Flamboyant Gothic style by the Chevaliers d'Eppes, then rebuilt in 1384 and enlarged in 1480 and again in the 19th century, Liesse-Notre-Dame, Laon, Picardy, France. The statue of the Black Virgin and child stands in front of a fresco of the Pentecost. Picture by Manuel Cohen
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