Saint Anthony

This sculpture depicts the saint wearing a Franciscan habit, with a tunic, cord belt and sandals. He holds the Bible in one hand, alluding to his immense wisdom, and a lily in the other, as a sign of purity and chastity. This iconography is quite ancient as it  not yet portrays the saint holding the Child Jesus, an association that would come to characterise the majority of images of the saint from the 17th century onwards. Acquired by Lisbon City Council in 1982, this is one of the oldest sculptures of St Anthony.