from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. A rich fabric of silk and gold brocade.
- n. A canopy of fabric carried in church processions or placed over an altar, throne, or dais.
- n. Architecture A stone or marble structure built in the form of a canopy, especially over the altar of a church.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. Alternative spelling of baldacchin.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A rich brocade; baudekin.
- n. A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the wall; generally placed over an altar.
- n. A portable canopy borne over shrines, etc., in procession.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as baudekin.
- n. A canopy of various kinds.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. ornamented canopy supported by columns or suspended from a roof or projected from a wall (as over an altar)
Under a baldachin is a litter, on which swings to and fro a dusky Madonna dressed after the fashion of the native goddesses, with a ring in her nose.
To the right (here we have already seen the statues on the left on the first picture of the altar to the right) on the baldachin St. Pantaleon (look with his hands nailed to his head) and on the volute St. Christopher.
Sitting to His side on the baldachin are St. Margaret to the left (see her attribute, the dragon, in German Wurm) and St. George to the right.
Behind the grille (before which, as you can see, a lot of candles are placed by the faithful), underneath the altar of grace which serves as a baldachin for it, and at the very centre of the Basilica is the original spot of the apparition, with the earth visible below the floor level.
To the left (the statues on the right we have already seen on the previous picture to the left) on the baldachin St. Vitus (look sharply for his rooster) and on the volute St. Achatius (with Cross and crown of thorns).
It also shows how a freestanding altar and baldachin may be used within the context of ad orientem liturgy, as well as being a further commentary on truly noble simplicity in architecture and church paraments.
Additional options include erecting a sizable ornamental canopy or baldachin over the tabernacle, or setting the tabernacle within the apsidal wall or against the backdrop of a decorated reredos.
Here, in its incongruous dark wood baldachin, hangs the Lutine Bell, historically rung when a ship went missing.
Column and pilaster shafts are beige botticino marble while capitals and entablatures are painted plaster.schafphoto. com Like the shrine, the focus is again on a baldachin - here, with swirling bronze Solomonic columns and an exuberant superstructure inspired by Bernini's baldachin at St. Peter's.
(The baldachin also serves to frame a replica, in the apse, of a cherished mosaic of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico.)