Description

This bust represents the female martyred saint, Apollonia. She is presented as a beautiful young woman with wavy blonde hair, tied back away from her face. She wears a tunic, richly decorated in the estofada style with green- and pink-hued floral motifs, the sleeves being gathered around her upper arms by braids. Together with that of Saint George, this is the only bust of the series that is represented with no arms. The figure displays a bleeding wound to her neck, in reference to her martyrdom. In the middle of her chest is an oval-shaped hole, framed in gold in the Mannerist style, featuring a series of “C”s. This is the reliquary itself, which would have contained a relic of this saint. The piece rests on a plinth decorated with classical oval and pearl-shaped motifs.

Judging by the predominant features of its style (elongated figure, head and neck out of proportion, lack of expression, the drape of the clothing, the treatment of her hair, parted symmetrically) and the type of moulding used, this reliquary can be considered representative of Sevillian mannerism, from the last quarter of the 16th C. 

The bust – like the other nine such pieces kept at the Iglesia de la Anunciación – originally formed part of the church’s old chapel of relics, which nowadays is used as the sacristy. It bears witness to the profound devotion practiced by the Jesuits in relation to the relics of saints – a form of worship that was promoted by the founder of the Society of Jesus, Saint Ignatius of Loyola.