Detail of St. Ursula of Cologne and 4 Virgin Martyrs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2013

Saint Ursula of Cologne and Four Virgin Martyrs

Date:ca. 1500

Culture:South Netherlandish

Medium:Oak, polychromy and gilding

Dimensions:Overall: 14 1/2 x 4 3/4 x 3 5/8 in. (36.8 x 12.1 x 9.2 cm)

Classification:Sculpture-Wood

Credit Line:Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941

Accession Number:41.100.149

According to an early medieval legend, Saint Ursula and eleven thousand virgins were massacred by the Huns with arrows at Cologne. The saint originally may have held an arrow and a palm, signifying her martyrdom. A large series of similar figures for sculptural altarpieces was made in Malines in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467722