Male statue-column with cartouche

On October 5, 2016, a fortuitous discovery was made in one of the recesses in the Santiago Cathedral bell tower: a column statue that undoubtedly comes from the door that Master Mateo made for the Portico of Glory, which has since been lost.

This was probably one of the pieces removed for the 1521 works to put in doors to close up the cathedral. It is possible that, at the time, there were doubts about the tower's stability and it was decided that the structure should be reinforced by filling its lower chambers, so the figure that has since been recovered was used for that purpose.

It features a male figure with its head removed—a common occurrence that meant the character lost its sanctity, becoming no more than stone. Its halo, however, remains. Behind is the column it was attached to, which was part of the portico's perimeter. The remaining neck shows that the figure's head was tilted downwards like the other column statues in the portico, which were all designed to be seen by the faithful from below. Its arms are close to the body and in its hands is a wide cartouche, held horizontally at thigh level, with no trace of its content remaining. The careful work on the figure's clothing includes indisputably Mateo detailing such as the characteristic "organ pipe" central folds, the uneven base of the tunic, and the delicate craftsmanship visible in the fine hands and long fingers, and in the bare feet resting on a small ledge.