Allegorical Sculpture „Strength”

The female figure with slender body proportions stands on her left leg, with the right leg supported higher on an architectural pedestal. The head is turned to the right, slightly raised. The woman is dressed in a tight, long gown with an oval neckline. She is covered from the back and at the hips with a loose, long cloak, whose folds she holds with both hands.

Her face features regular, delicate features, with her gaze directed upwards. Her hair is styled back, with strands falling on her neck. Beside her left foot is an overturned column fragment, an attribute of the figure. Her feet are bare in sandals. The figure is positioned on a circular, convex base. The sculpture was the third from the right by the pilaster of the baptismal font enclosure.

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.