Latin America, Mexico, 19th century. A carved and polychromed figure of Saint Augustine of Hippo (San Agustín), bearded and standing in a blue tunic and brown breeches, holding a model of a cathedral in silver filigree. The cathedral represents his greatest work, The City of God, and is his traditional attribute as one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church.

Santos (carved images of saints) were made for churches and for home altars throughout colonial and post-colonial Mexico, often by local workshops. Source: Colonial Arts Gallery, San Francisco, 2011.