Long identified as the representation of a Celtiberian goddess, this figurine remained an enigma for more than 180 years. Its configuration and the intriguing inscription on the front, in unidentified characters (probably invented), are not consistent with the case lined with fine red leather and engraved in gold, similar to 18th century jewelry cases.

In 2003, the MNSR began what would become a long process of documenting and classifying this piece, presenting it to several archaeologists for study purposes, in comparison with 3 other similar figurines found in the National Library of Portugal (those associated with a nucleus of the Antiquities Cabinet, created in 1804, at the Royal Public Library of the Court and Kingdom). This challenge resulted in the publication, in 2020, of the study Ídolos Prerromanos invented en el Portugal illustrated from the siglo XVIII by Martin Almagro-Gorbea, in which it is clarified that the figurine is after all a false idol, inspired by engravings that represented antiquities discovered in the XVIII century. This piece is a testimony to the awakening of archeology and antiquities collecting in Portugal, perhaps in the enlightened circle of scholars and amateurs gathered in Évora, in the sphere of Dom Frei Manuel do Cenáculo.

This plaster medal is one of approximately 700 acquired on the Grand Tour. This was a tradition in vogue, especially from the 17th to 19th century, of wealthy young Europeans undertaking an initiatory journey, whose ultimate destination was Italy, in order to increase their knowledge of classical culture and art.

Gems (precious stones) and ancient intaglios, as well as copies and reproductions of them in glass paste, plaster, wax and other materials were one of the most sought-after souvenirs of these journeys, as they provided a glimpse of the Ancient World through a very small object. In the 18th century, these objects circulated with such popularity between collectors and the curious that they started being called Grand Tour cameos.

The themes represented extended to the reproduction of the most prestigious classical sculptures in Rome. The Hermaphrodite is one such sculpture, discovered in the early 17th century and acquired by Cardinal Borghese who, in 1620, commissioned the sculptor Lorenzo Bernini to create the pillow on which the figure now sleeps.

This small statuette represents the god Mars, god of war in Roman mythology corresponding to the Greek god, Ares. The figure is represented in Roman military dress with a Corinthian helmet and an anatomical breastplate over a tunic. It appears to replicate the Mars presented as a soldier found in the temple of the god Mars Ultor (the Avenger) in Rome (now in the Vatican Museum).

It is not possible to know what the figure would have held in his raised right hand and flexed left arm (perhaps a spear and a shield, respectively). This statuette was acquired by Soares dos Reis National Museum with the indication that it had been found in the Herdade da Pombinha in Campo Maior.

A similar statuette is now in Penafiel Museum, having been found during the construction of the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Piedade e Santos Passos – Sameiro Church, in 1886.

Book of Hours with 214+2 folios on vellum (fine parchment made from animal foetal skin), illustrated with 11 illuminations. Written in Flemish, it was produced in the Utrecht region in the 15th century. It bears an ownership signature that associates it with Gonçalo Brandão, a relative of João Brandão, the king’s treasurer and accountant in Porto from 1472.

The Flemish books of hours are unusual in that most of them followed the translation of Gerard Groote, an evangelical scholar and preacher, and a key figure in the religious reform movement called Devotio Moderna. It was precisely his writings that introduced the tradition of ‘methodical prayer’, organising exercises day by day and week by week. The philosopher and humanist, Erasmus of Rotterdam was brought up in this tradition, which is considered decisive in the advent of the Protestant reformation. The presence of this book in the hands of a Portuguese (for whom the Flemish language would have been no obstacle) bears witness to the presence of this reform movement among the 15th century Portuguese elite.

It was acquired in 1886 by Eduardo Allen, director of the Museu Municipal.

In Ancient Egypt, funerary statuettes were initially designed to provide an alternative support to the spiritual elements of the deceased: if the mummy deteriorated, these elements could still rely on the replicas of the mummy to maintain their attachment to the body.

From the New Empire (from 1580 to 1080 BC) onwards, these statuettes were given a new function: that of serving the deceased in the paradisiacal fields of the afterlife and guaranteeing that all the tasks associated with them would be carried out. This is why the statuette of Djedhor, son of Renpetnefert, has agricultural tools in his hands, such as a mattock, an axe and a sack

The inscription on the body of the statue is a version of chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, a set of texts that accompanied the dead on their journey to the afterlife.

It belonged to the Allen collection.

On his trip to Italy, between 1826 and 1827, the collector João Allen visited all the locations constituting a Grand Tour, acquiring numerous works of art and antiques.

He arrived in Naples in winter and visited the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompey, obligatory stops for any educated traveller of that time. During the trip, he purchased a set of small, Gnathia type ceramics from Magna Graecia, dated between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.

This set would be exhibited in the Museum opened by the collector in Porto, in 1837, probably becoming the first group of Greek ceramics presented to the public in Portugal.

A ceremonial shield in leather-covered wood, lacquered in black with gilt and red ornamentation. The centre of the front features a coat-of-arms, which is now impossible to make out completely. The decoration on the back consists of Chinese motifs: multiple vine branches with hanging bunches, peonies, two birds and two animals, which may be squirrels or mongooses.

Certainly commissioned by a Portuguese nobleman, this shield clearly represents the richness of the web of commercial and cultural relations established by the Portuguese in Asia during the 16th century. It is a hybrid piece in which manufacturing techniques and materials from Portuguese India and China converge with European taste. There are around 20 of these shields in European and North American collections.

Inkstand made of hot-worked tortoise shell, with gold and mother-of-pearl inlays in a technique called gold piqué. It comes from the Santa Cruz de Coimbra Monastery, from where it was taken in 1834, following the dissolution of the religious orders.

This piece has been referenced since 1868 as a gift from Pope Benedict XIV to the Pontifical Liturgical Academy he founded in Santa Cruz de Coimbra in 1747.

It was made in Naples and is unsigned and undated. Nevertheless, the design and engraving on the mother-of-pearl and gold features – as well as the characteristics and distribution of these materials together with the piece’s decorative grammar – mean it can be dated with some certainty to between 1730 and 1735. For the same reasons, it can be attributed to Giuseppe Sarao, the most famous and best-known of the tartarugari (tortoise shell masters) at the court of Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, between 1734 and 1759.

This series of 26 enamel plaques painted on copper depicts scenes from Christ’s Passion, reproducing and recreating 24 of the 36 engravings that make up the series called “The Little Passion” by the German artist, Albrecht Dürer, published in 1511.

The plaques are not signed or dated, but are part of a group of pieces attributed to the same workshop, in Limoges, between 1550 and 1625. Besides the 26 plaques from the Soares dos Reis National Museum, about 98 plaques are known today (distributed among several European collections), which are believed to have been produced in that workshop, currently designated the “Workshop of the Little Passion of the Holy Cross of Coimbra”. The series comes from the Sanctuary of the Santa Cruz de Coimbra Monastery, where it was found in 1752 and from where it was removed in 1834, following the dissolution of the religious orders. The wooden altar in which the plaques were inserted is still preserved in the monastery shrine.

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This miniature, temple-shaped oratory represents the coronation of the Virgin, flanked by St Barbara and St Catherine of Alexandria. It was produced in the north of the Netherlands, between 1500 and 1530, probably in the workshops of Adam Theodrici (in Delft).

The representation of these three figures was common in late Gothic and Renaissance works. The active life is personified by St Barbara, protector of knights and men-at-arms; while the contemplative life is represented by St Catherine, protector of students, philosophers and teachers.

The triptych can be considered rare, being part of a group of around 150 items (including small oratories and rosary beads) identified so far throughout the world. These objects of private devotion are related to the practice of short and frequent periods of meditation recommended by the Devotio Moderna, a religious reform movement that arose in the Netherlands and Germany in the late 14th century.

It was donated to the Museu Portuense around 1836.