saint identification and metallurgy question

Years ago, I purchased what I thought was a sewing etui - Neither the person holding the estate sale nor I couldn't get it to twist open - but I could feel something moving around inside the little wood case. Surprisingly, this little 1" tall, deteriorating metal statue was what it held. I think it's called a pocket saint.

The metal, which is suffering from some something - I'd call it oxidation, but with it being sealed in that little wooden tube, I don't know how much air got to it - whatever is happening to it, has caused the metal to smell pretty awful. The 3rd photo shows what looks like some sort of plating that is peeling off of the base metal's now powdery surface.

I have 2 (or maybe 4) questions:
Is this guy St. Anthony? or are there other saints who carry babies?
What metal smells bad as it breaks-down / oxidizes? (what would you call whatever has happened to it?)

 

Hi..difficult to tell from the picture is that gold leaf on your fellow. Not good on Saints..but didn't Christopher carry as well?

 

Both Tony & Chris were traditionally depicted carrying babes. Could be others too.

 

Oh, wait ! Wasn't one depicted carrying the babe in his arms and the other with the child on his back? Its been a very, VERY long time since catechism...And hasn't one or the other been "de-sainted"?

 

Is it heavy for its size? My guess would be gold leaf over lead. It might have been used for something and put away uncleaned after the fact. Doing that might even have been part the efficacy of the procedure. How big is it? Too big to swallow?

 

? lead..is it heavy

sniped!

 

Joseph is also shown holding the Baby Jesus.

 

Thanks, Ruedi, I'll go check out some images of Christopher. Ooops! my photos do make it look gold-ish, huh? It's not really ... it's a silvery color that is peeling off

 

OOOPS! Imagine my missing that. And I profess to be a good, card carrying member of the Anglican Church. High Church or Low, I should have figured that in my reply. Shame on me......................

 

After a quick google search, it seems that roughly 98% of the images of St. Chris with a baby/child have him with the kid on his shoulder or back and only 2% or so with it in his arm or in a sling.

 

Hi Mansons,
Do not feel bad. It looks like it might be Jesus who is holding a child. The rest of the Saints usually had an other object while holding the Babe. That way they could be ID'd.
greg

 

Why wouldn't this be Mary with Baby Jesus?
The positioning seems correct.

 

It is pretty heavy for its size (about 1" or 2.5cm tall by nearly ½" or 1.1 cm wide) and weighs 8 grams. Does lead deteriorate or smell bad? I have a lead dinosaur toy from the 50's that looks fine (other than some tooth imprints I put in it) and is odor-free.

I suppose you *could* swallow it ... but I wouldn't want to try it. Is this something someone would actually do?

 

Oh my goodness, you're right.
So many saints with a baby/child ....
how do people tell one apart from the other when they see them?

 

You take careful note of which direction the lightening bolt comes from when you call out their names in vain..................


Actually as Greg noted, they are usually carrying something that symbolizes them. Christopher a staff, etc.

 

just read this. Lead breaks down to lead hydroxide (not sure of smell)
In the presence of certain wood-borne acids, such as those found in oak or western red cedar, the deterioration caused by condensation may become more aggressive.

 

Another cause of the deterioration could be "zinc pest," a problem with die-cast zinc alloy items made in the 1930s-1950s, due to lead impurities in the casting alloy. Dinky-toy collectors, among others, are familiar with this problem, sometimes called a "disease" because it can seem to spread from one item to another.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest

 

My lapsed Catholicism says Joseph with the Christ child.

 

My ol' man is Episcopalian (Catholic Lite) and he says he thinks it's one of the guy-saints. He also says he likes the coins better.

 

Never met him, but I like him!