St Eligius and the devil disguised as a woman

St Eligius was forced to shoe a horse which under the influence of the devil, kicked anyone who approached it. He cut the leg off, shod it and then restored the leg to the horse making the sign of the cross. He then pulled the devil's nose with his pincers. The devil, as here, is often shown in the form of a woman with horns. This is one of the artworks presented by the Liverpool Royal Institution. Liverpool’s economic development grew directly from Britain’s involvement with transatlantic slavery: the kidnapping, enslavement and forced migration of people from West Africa to the Americas and many to the Caribbean. Many members of the Royal Institution made their fortunes directly through the trade or indirectly through the wider economy. This wealth was largely how they were able to bring rare art and treasures, such as this, to the city.