Bituminous Saints

"Pictures of bituminous saints mouldered between the pilasters; the artificial roses in the altar vases were gray with dust and age, and under the cobwebby rosettes of the vaulting a bird’s nest clung."[1]

Bitumen is a sticky tar-like substance that is obtained from oil and can be used for the surfaces of roads or the roofing of houses. Statues of Saints were often covered in bitumen to preserve the wood.[2]

[1] Wharton 1901, p. 4

[2] see Hornby 2019, Nr. 5