Eric the Holy

Plenty of gold and silver plated surface has been preserved on the statue of Eric. Thin leaf metal is visible in the image as light areas impermeable to X-rays. The area of the face is also light, which is due to the white lead in the colour of the skin. However, the face is not smooth like the metal surface; the paint marks can be clearly seen in the image.

Metal surfaces that sparkled and reflected light in their original appearance were an important part of medieval sculpture. Here, they depict not only the metal armour, but also the dignity and holiness of the character. The alternation of gold and silver is intentional, although silver is often darkened and can, therefore, be difficult to detect. In the statue of Eric, silver is found in the area of the neck and chest protectors, for example.