Allegorical Sculpture „Love”

The female figure, with slender body proportions and the left leg extended forward, holds a naked infant on her right arm. The infant rests its right hand on the woman’s forearm and turns its head to the left towards her face. In her left hand, the woman holds a long torch with a small flame pointed downward. At her feet on the left side stands a second naked infant, which reaches up with its left hand to grasp the torch.

The female figure is dressed in a tight gown with a square neckline. Over her shoulders is a loose, voluminous cloak draped over her arms, with her hands holding its edges. The woman’s hair is styled back into a bun, with strands falling on either side of her neck. Her feet are bare in sandals. The figure is set on a circular, convex base. The sculpture was positioned as the second from the right of the entrance to the baptismal font.

The baptismal font was funded by the Council of St. Mary’s Church and made in the Netherlands between 1554–56. It was transported by ship to Gdańsk in 1557. In 1943–44, it was evacuated to the village of Żuławki near Gdańsk. In the post–war years, the sculptures were secured and stored in the National Museum in Warsaw. They returned to St. Mary’s Basilica in 1981.