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The Sacred Art Museum of Maranhão (Museu de Arte Sacra do Maranhão) is a museum in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. It was installed on the second floor of the São Luís Episcopal Palace, in Pedro II Plaza. The collection of sacred art and other materials spans the early Portuguese colonial period to the 20th century; the collection has an emphasis on Jesuit art of the 17th and 18th century. While much of the collection is owned by the Archdiocese of São Luís do Maranhão, the Sacred Art Museum of Maranhão is administered as a unit of the Historical and Artistic Museum of Maranhão.

History

The Jesuits were expelled from Brazil in 1759, and subsequently from Maranhão in 1761. Their assets were transferred to the Portuguese crown. The old church in the city of São Luís was demolished by order of governor Joaquim de Melo as part of an urban reform. The reform included the repurposing of Jesuit buildings. The College of the Jesuits became the Bishop's Palace (later the Archbishops Palace). The Jesuit college church became the cathedral of the city of São Luís, dedicated to Our Lady of Vitória.

The first sacred art museum in Maranhão, the Pius XII Museum, created in 1956 on the initiative of Dom José Delgado, then Metropolitan Archbishop. Dom José Delgado also founded the first university in the state.

The Pius XII Museum closed in 1967, and its collection was transferred to the Maranhão Historical and Artistic Museum in 1973.

The Government of the State of Maranhão, through the Association of Friends of Museums, acquired the building owned by the Archdiocese of São Luis in 1992 to house a new Museum of Sacred Art.

A large-scale renovation of the Cathedral of São Luís and the Episcopal Palace began in October 2013 and was completed in September 2014 by (IPHAN). The Museum of Sacred Art of Maranhão was installed on the second floor of the Palace during the restoration. The museum has 13 rooms, and consists of works from the old museum, which was adjacent to the Maranhão Historical and Artistic Museum of Maranhão.

Collection

Part of the collection belongs to the Archdiocese of São Luís. It consists of more than 400 pieces. The majority of works and objects of imaginary pieces of saints; goldsmithing and vestments from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries; sculptures, pieces and images used in religious celebrations. A highlight of the collection is works from the Maranhense School of Imaginary dating back to the 18th century. The collections has objects that span the Mannerist, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical styles.

Also noteworthy are the "roca saints". They are processional images of saints, hollow and made entirely of wood. Images of roca saints were traditionally used in Holy Week processions, and their use extended until the middle of the 19th century. The "roca saints" are a symbol of the Baroque period in Brazil, both in the style of imagery and use in grand public religious celebrations, and were an essential part of daily life in colonial and Imperial Brazil.