St Barbara

St Barbara stands holding her robe with her left hand and placing her right hand on a tower which stands on the ground. The statuette is carved on the back. The tower symbolises St Barbara's imprisonment by her father.

Saints are the heroes and heroines of Christian faith. In the 14th and 15th centuries, they were a popular subject for alabaster carvings. Religious themes penetrated private life, so devotional images of saints were sculpted not only for church interiors, but also for individuals to contemplate within the privacy of their homes.