The language of sacred art.
Every lily, lamb and star on a statue has a meaning. Here is what each one says, and the saints who carry it.
Flowers and plants
Creatures of heaven and earth
The Passion and the martyrs
The Crown of Thorns
Christ’s suffering in his Passion, mocked as a king by the soldiers (Matthew 27:29).
Arrows
The martyrdom of St Sebastian, shot with arrows for his faith; long invoked against plague.
The Gridiron
The martyrdom of St Lawrence, deacon of Rome, put to death on a gridiron in 258.
The Skull
“Remember that you will die” (memento mori): a call to penance. At the foot of the Cross it is Adam’s skull, on Golgotha, the Place of the Skull.
In their hands
The Orb
The whole world under Christ’s rule, often shown with a cross on top.
The Carpenter’s Square
St Joseph’s trade, and the holiness of honest work.
The Scales
The weighing of souls at the Last Judgement, a task given in art to St Michael.
The Rosary
Prayer to Mary while meditating on the life of Christ; Our Lady carried it at Lourdes and asked for it daily at Fatima.
Hearts and the heavens
The Sacred Heart
Christ’s burning love for all people: the heart aflame, ringed with thorns and crowned with the cross.
The Crown of Twelve Stars
The woman “clothed with the sun … and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1), seen as Mary.
The Crescent Moon
“The moon under her feet” (Revelation 12:1): Mary above all that changes and passes, often crushing the serpent (Genesis 3:15).
A symbol you’d like on your statue?
Every statue is made from scratch, so a saint can carry the lily, the palm or the book you ask for.