Saint Lawrence

Two strange formations stand out from the hem of Lawrence’s cloak. A side image from the same area highlights the bag-like shape. The shapes stand out from the hollowed inside of the statue, which is covered by a backboard. In addition, there is a pile of some kind of dust at the bottom of the hollow space that stands out darker. What can this be?

The formations do not appear to be man-made. The statue is very “littering”: every time it is moved, some sort of lint comes out from between the backboard and the statue. Could some sort of animal have built a nest inside the statue that would have mummified into the bags shown in the image? Sculptures often contain traces of wood pests, most typically holes dug by furniture beetle larvae. However, this case seems to be different, and the process is no longer active.

Also note the exceptionally impressive forged nails used to combine the different parts of the statue. The light area at the face is also a nail struck from behind. The wood used for the sculpture was exceptionally knotty – a dominant knot is in such an important place as the face. This is a good indication of the great significance of the priming and paint layers in the final appearance of sculptures.