“All the Gallantry and Beauty that a Pedestal Intended for such a Statue should have” – About the Silver Statue of the Immaculate Conception made in Rome for the Patriarchal Basilica: Ludovice's Intervention

This article aims to address a specific aspect regarding the celebrated gilded silver statue of the Immaculate Conception, commissioned in Rome by King John V for the Patriarchal Basilica of Lisbon. The statue was crafted by the silversmiths Giuseppe Gagliardi (1697-1749) and Leandro Gagliardi (1729-1804), based on the project and model of the sculptor Giovanni Battista Maini (1690-1752). While the intervention of João Frederico Ludovice (1673-1752) in the iconographic models and technical aspects of the statue's creation is already known, the manuscript that is published and discussed in this text reveals a further involvement by the “famous Frederico” (“célebre Frederico”) in the process concerning the silver statue and its placement inside the Johannine Patriarchal.