ABSTRACT
In the larger society, religious sculptures were collected to serve as objects for personal devotion, but also to display one's piety. During the reign of Philip III, the number of collectors and the size of sculpture collections increased markedly. In many ways, Charles V's preference for classicizing, Italian and Flemish sculptures in bronze and marble defined Spanish royal taste through the sixteenth century and into the seventeenth century. It was Philip IV who sought to bring the quantity and quality of the sculptures and their display to the same level of prestige as the of other European princes. For the most part, scholars tended to see their collections as objects for study for them, sculptures, epigraphs, coins and medals were important remains of the ancient world. In addition to ancient portraits, other types of Roman sculptures found in archeological excavations in Spain and those in Italy, especially in Rome, were especially prized.
