In Germany, such a statue placed on the outside of a building is called a Hausmadonna. Some date back to the Middle Ages, while some are still being made today. Usually found on the level of the second floor or higher, and often on the corner of a house, such sculptures were found in great numbers in many cities; Mainz, for instance, was supposed to have had more than 200 of them before World War II. The variety in such statues is as great as in other Madonna images; one finds Madonnas holding grapes (in reference to the Song of Songs 1:14, translated as "My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms" in the NIV), "immaculate" Madonnas in pure, perfect white without child or accessories, and Madonnas with roses symbolizing her life determined by the mysteries of faith.Anne-Madeleine Plum, "Kreuzzepter-Madonna--Zypertraube ind fruchtbringende Rede" and "Maria, Geheimnisvolle Rose", in Wöhrlin, Mainzer Hausmadonnen, pp. 49–54, 55–57.
In Germany, such a statue placed on the outside of a building is called a Hausmadonna. Some date back to the Middle Ages, while some are still being made today. Usually found on the level of the second floor or higher, and often on the corner of a house, such sculptures were found in great numbers in many cities; Mainz, for instance, was supposed to have had more than 200 of them before World War II. The variety in such statues is as great as in other Madonna images; one finds Madonnas holding grapes (in reference to the Song of Songs 1:14, translated as "My lover is to me a cluster ,of henna blossoms" in the NIV), "immaculate" Madonnas in pure, perfect white without child or accessories, and Madonnas with roses symbolizing her life determined by the mysteries of faith.Anne-Madeleine Plum, "Kreuzzepter-Madonna--Zypertraube ind fruchtbringende Rede" and "Maria, Geheimnisvolle Rose", in Wöhrlin Mainzer Hausmadonnen, pp. 49–54, 55–57.