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© Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona
Omeka ID 2292
Olèrdola
Medieval

male head of an apostle or saint

MAC OLE-00643

Object type
figure
Production date
1300 / 1500
Fabric
-
Museum
Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona
Culture
Medieval
Discovery location
Olèrdola. Església de Sant Miquel (sector 06)
Materials
plaster
Township
Olèrdola (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Alt Penedès)
Technique
moulding
Where is it?
Reserves
Dimensions
220 x 150 x 120 mm
Description
Bearded male bust in plaster. The back is flat, in order to be applied to some type of support. Painted decoration can be seen on the hair and on the beard. It was recovered, together with other pieces, in the 2007 excavation in the church of Sant Miquel d'Olèrdola, within the framework of the restoration project of the pre-Romanesque and Romanesque building. The plaster objects were hidden in a liturgical cabinet located on the north facing of the nave, near the chancel arch. This cupboard was related to a raised choir located in this space. The heads of a devil, an angel and a saint had been hidden in it, which is related to the belief that the destruction of certain religious figures brought bad luck. This male head could correspond to an apostle, or another unidentified personage. While the demon heads recovered in the same cupboard clearly formed part of the main Gothic altarpiece of the church, dedicated to San Miguel, this piece is of more difficult attribution and is associated with the elements that decorated the interior of the building.

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