Archangel Raphael
Origin: Portugal. Fifteenth century
Material: Sculpture in Wood
Height: 650 mm, Width: 220 mm.
MM.04613
It is believed that this statue was aboard the ship S. Rafael that was part of the fleet of Vasco da Gama that completed the first maritime trip to India, in 1498. On the return voyage, the ship sank, and the statue was saved by Paulo da Gama, who took it aboard the “S. Gabriel”. Vasco da Gama kept the statue throughout the trip and it remained in India when the great navigator died there in 1524. Nearly a century later, it was brought back to Portugal by D. Francisco da Gama. After a few centuries in Vidigueira, the statue was placed in Jerónimos Monastery in 1880, when Vasco da Gama’s remains were reburied. In 1950 the statue was donated to the Maritime Museum.