A female saint

This portion of a statuette represents a female saint, almost nude holding her drapery in her left hand. It is by an unknown artist from the late 15th century and was dug up near Cologne alongside other objects.

It is made of pipeclay, which is a fine white clay used to make tobacco pipes and pottery. Conveniently situated on a major trading route, Siegburg was a centre of ceramic production with well-organised workshops and kilns in which pipe-clay figures were also fired.