Sculpture of Virgin Mary with St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas

The sculpture of Virgin Mary with St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas was created in 1708 by Matthias Wenzel Jäckel, upon a commission by the Dominican monastery at St. George’s Church at the Prague Castle. The original work is currently stored in the Lapidarium of the National Museum; the copy on the bridge was carved from Mšeno sandstone by sculptors Arnošt Bartůněk and Stanislav Hanzl between 1958 and 1961. Virgin Mary with Infant Jesus, in a high cloud formation with a globe and the Dominican symbol of a dog holding a burning torch in its mouth, bend down toward the kneeling founder of the order, St. Dominic. At the saint’s feet lie attributes referring to his role as the founder: a model of a monastery, an abbot’s miter, and books. To the left of Virgin Mary there’s St. Thomas Aquinas, a prominent Christian thinker, kneeling and holding an open book in his right hand. The chain with a radiant sun on Thomas’s chest symbolizes Truth; the beehive held by a cherub at the saint’s feet is a symbol of wisdom. The three-part architectural pedestal is adorned with five cartouches bearing celebratory inscriptions.