A chaplet mystery

A couple of years ago I bought a chaplet which I thought to be imperfect, due to its asymetrical and very unusual makeup: three groups of beads, each of different size and color, with a small crucifix. As you can see, it consists of ten white beads, five red beads, and twelve black beads, with separators, and a tail that includes a single bead and a crucifix.. I searched all over the internet and found nothing. Recently I saw a picture of a similar chaplet, which made me curious again. I wonder what it's called and how it is used.

 

carried, and held while praying........

A Chaplet is a form of Christian prayer which uses prayer beads. Some chaplets have a strong Marian element, others focus more directly on Jesus or the Saints. Chaplets are "personal devotionals." They have no set form and vary considerably.

 

Dear Komokwa,
Thank you for your interesting comment.
And yet, some chaplets have become very common and widely acceptable, such as the Angelic Crown of St. Michael (9 sets of 3 beads with St. Michael Medal), Beads of the Immaculate Conception (3 sets of 4 beads), Beads of the Sacred Heart (5 sets of 5 beads), the Little Flower Rosary (24 beads), to name a few. There is a lot of information about all of them, but this specific chaplet appears to be totally absent from any database that I could find. I would think that someone made it for personal use, unless I saw a picture of one exactly the same, except for the separating beads which are placed differrently: 10 white - 1 black - 5 red - 1 white - 12 black, and in the tail a red bead and a crucifix, almost identical to mine. That shows that this chaplet has a meaning, which is apparently more widely accepted than by one person, as his or her personal object of devotion. As of its origin, I believe it to be of French origin. Can you help me identify it?

 

Being Jewish......not really.
But u seem to know a great deal about them....so I hope u find what you're looking for !!

 

My catholic upbringing thinks that the number of beads indicated which prayer was to be used.

 

That makes a lot of sense! My thoughts exactly...
Unfortunately, my knowledge of Catholic traditions and prayers is minimal. My upbringing was secular, and my interest in religions arose at a later age. As for Catholicism, I started reading about it only when I started collecting rosaries, five years ago. This hobby had opened many new worlds: art - motives and streams, theology and symbology, Catholic literature, etc. I even learned about materials that I never heard of before, such as Bois Durci. Every new rosary or chaplet must be dated and classified. So far I did rather well, but for this one, which remains a complete mystery.
The crucifix, too, which I believe to be the original one, is unusual as well: it shows the crucified Jesus on one side, and Maria and baby Jesus on the other side. This is the first - and only - time I've seen this motive on this type of crucifix.

 

bois durci is hardened wood made by flame like the wine and whiskey barrels.
what you have is a collection of French stuff, most made of the cheapest metals to earn more for the church "ad maiorem dei gloriam".

 

one seems to be a Médaille miraculeuse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculous_Medal

 

You'd be surprised. Some are of excellent materials.
Perhaps the ones that were bought in a jeweller's shop.
A mid-19th century polymer, made with sawdust and bull's blood, Bois Durci was in its time the most expensive type of...plastic. Though both ingredients were available in abundance, the final product was pricey due to the process of its making. It had several stages of heating, grinding, re-heating, and molding.
Back to my chaplet: this one is indeed made of cheap materials - glass and silver-coated iron. And yet, see how beautiful it is. I swear that the beads look like gems, but the air bubbles turn them in as glass.

 

I'd give that a vinegar bath, it will come up nicely.