Reliquary Bust of Saint Lucía

This piece is a half-bust sculpture in wood representing Saint Lucía. The piece presents a young woman, covered by a mantle that falls from her shoulders and dressed with a chemise and tunic cinched by a girdle. The artist pays special attention to the hairstyle, a characteristic aspect in pieces from this series: wavy braids held by a floral headband.

From an iconographic standpoint, the martyr is identified by her traditional attributes: the cup containing the eyes, alluding to the variants of the tradition that highlight the beauty. Like the floral headband, an attribute shared with other virgins; and the palm of martyrdom, symbol of victory after sacrifice. Furthermore, the design of these busts is related both to the direct influence of Mannerist-inspired models and to the influence of models disseminated through engravings (Fernández Ahijado, 2013: 148).

The lower part rests upon a cruciform-section pedestal which, on its front face, incorporates a reliquary box with the relic of the saint. It should be noted that the work was provided with a nimbus, now detached from the piece (cf. Sáez González, 2012: 60–61).