Reliquary Bust of Saint Mabilla

Reliquary Bust of 
Saint Mabilla
Sienna, circa 1370-1380
Multicoloured wood
H. 0.46 m ; W. 0.33 m ; depth 0.22 m
Acq., 1857 ; Cl. 2624

The saint represented by the bust is identified by an inscription at its base, as one of the " eleven thousand virgins," companions of Martyr Saint Ursula in Cologne. The reliquary bust shelters the martyr's skull. The polychrome of the hair and clothing is original, but that of the carnations was added later. The facial characteristics are marked by the grave and troubled determination found in comparable pieces, such as the Angel of Annunciation (Montalcino, Museo Civico e d'Arte Sacra) dated 1370 and signed Angelo. This might be Angelo di Naduccio, a Siena painter, 1343-1389. The large number of sculpted or plated busts to be found in museums and churches tell of the expansion of the cult of colonial martyrs throughout Christianity in the 14th century.