Sculptures from the Benedictine Monastery of Holy Mary, in Pombeiro, attributed to Friar José de Santo António Ferreira Vilaça (1731-1809), a prolific rococo master sculptor of the Minho region rococo. Following from the abolition of religious orders (1834) and the resulting decommissioning of monasteries and convents, these sculptures would sold and later acquired, in the 20th century, by the film maker and set designer, Leitão de Barros, for decorating the stern of the ship São Vicente, a replica of a 17th century Portuguese India Run ship, that should be launched to the river Tagus to celebrate the national cultural heritage. This project, however, was never accomplished.



 

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