Lot 05

Unknown author SAINT BARBARA

A saint originally from the 3rd century who professed her Christian faith and was tortured and imprisoned. She was ultimately executed by her own father. The saint stands before a tower; an angel carries a wreath and a palm leaf to her, and she holds a chalice and a host in her hand—a privilege typically reserved for male saints—as a sign of her protection for those who might die suddenly without the sacraments of confession and communion. The Catholic Church significantly restricted this depiction after 1576.