Investiture Certificate of Sister Maria Theresa Baglioni

This elaborate illuminated manuscript page marked Maria Theresa Baglioni’s investiture as a nun in the Augustinian convent of Santa Marta in Venice in 1717. During the ceremony, in addition to renouncing all property and vowing to live in abstinence until death, she likely recited the standard ritualistic formula of promises of obedience to God, the pope, and Saint Augustine, which are reproduced on the illusionistic scroll at the center of this parchment sheet. Augustine and the Virgin Mary are seen at the upper left and center, respectively, while the abbey’s patron saint, Saint Martha, tamed dragon in tow, appears at the lower left.