Oberrheinisch
Busts of saints of the Freiburg Guilds, um 1653 - 1800
About the object
In 1650, relics were brought to Freiburg from Rome after the catacombs there had been opened. The relics were mostly distributed among the twelve city guilds. In order to display them, a commensurate number of busts were commissioned, which were then paraded in Corpus Christi processions. Often enough, frequent use led to restoration or, indeed, replacement, whereby the busts were modified to accommodate changing stylistic sensibilities over time.