Gil de Siloe
St. James the Greater

Circa 1489-93
Alabaster, gold, and paint
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection (accession no. 69.88)
Made in Burgos, Spain

This exemplar of the St. James as Pilgrim type has all the common attributes: the pilgrim's staff with a hook for a water gourd, the broad-brimmed hat with cockle-shell and crossed-staffs emblems, and the book. He wears the usual archaizing garments, a cape over a long tunic, as well as a broad stole (seen below his right forearm). The stole is worn by priests when celebrating the sacraments.

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Source of photo, date, media, and provenance: Metropolitan Museum of Art