AN INSCRIBED ALTARPIECE FROM KOCHI, INDIA

This document describes an inscribed wooden altarpiece, found in 2009 in Kochi, India, and subsequently donated to the Catholic Art Museum in Ernakulam. The altarpiece, painted in an Indian Neo-Renaissance style, features a sword-pierced flaming heart surrounded by rose garlands, likely representing the Sorrowful Heart of the Holy Virgin. The altar includes a unique inscription in a mixture of Syriac and Malayalam, which initially appeared to say "Fruit of the Mother of God, intercede for us!"