Annunciation lily pot

Part of a pilgrim badge, probably from the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at Walsingham Priory. The badge depicts the lily pot from the scene of the Annunciation (the moment when the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she was to give birth to Christ). A lily growing from a pot was frequently depicted between the figures of Mary and Gabriel in Annunciation scenes and was also made into badges on its own. The lily symbolises Mary’s purity, innocence and the immaculate conception of Christ.

The shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk was a popular pilgrimage destination in the medieval period, especially after Henry III made a series of pilgrimages there in the 13th century.