Spanish Marble Relief Plaques of San Giovanni and San Tadeo ( Saints John and Judas )

Our Spanish marble relief plaques in ebonized frames date from the 19th to early 20th century depict the saints Judas Tadeo (Judas Thaddeus) and Giovanni (John).  Frames measure 9 3/4 inches in diameter and 1 3/4 inches deep, and the marbles 6 1/4 in in diameter. They are affixed to the frames with plaster or similar white material which shows around the perimeter of each roundel. The rears have newer wooden inserts and the entirety of the rear surfaces have been recently washed in brown stain.

The one on left is signed S TADEO AP where S stands for San (Saint) and AP for Apóstol (Apostle).  Saint Judas, Judas Thaddaeus, is spelled San Judas Tadeo in Spanish and here was shortened to Tadeo.

A relative of Jesus, Judas was one of the Twelve Apostles and one of his first followers. After Christ's death he became an evangelizer and in artistic depictions such as this the initials EV often follow AP to indicate Evangelista (Evangelist).  He was martyred along with Simon the Zealot, by decapitation with a hatchet.

The plaque on right is signed S GIOVANNI AP for San (Saint) Giovanni (John) the Apostle, commonly known as Saint John the Evangelist.