The project to restore and turn into a museum a 19th-century sculpture collection, the Arcano Místico (Mystical Arcanum) of Madre Margarida do Apocalipse, made up of thousands of small figures representing mysteries from the Old and New Testaments, is the latest winner of the Vilalva Award.

The collection, created by a Clarissa nun from the Convent of Jesus in Ribeira Grande, Azores, had been classified as a regional treasure in 2009, despite its poor state of conservation. The restoration involved not only the remarkable work of restoring the collection, but also adapting the house where the Clarissa nun lived, which now hosts this treasure.

The new space, called Museu do Arcano (Arcanum Museum), is dominated by a curious large glass case, where 92 different paintings depicting biblical episodes are displayed on three shelves. These episodes, made from multiple natural materials, include more than 3,970 figures moulded from flour mixed with gum arabic.

Surprised by the unusual and unique nature of this virtually unknown collection, the jury, composed of António Lamas, José Sarmento de Matos, José Pedro Martins Barata, Dalila Rodrigues and Rui Esgaio, took into account not only the museum project, but also all the research and publications produced. The jury recognised a work of art that it considered to be “of a naïve beauty, but reflecting knowledge of clothing and erudite, poetic and almost surrealist iconography”, emphasising that the award will give “national and international visibility to this treasure of the Azores”.

The Mystical Arcanum belongs to the Confraria do Santíssimo Sacramento (Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament) of the Matriz da Senhora da Estrela Church and was proposed by the Ribeira Grande City Council (Azores). The project was designed by Carlos Almeida Marques’ studio, which has extensive experience in public projects and has also collaborated on municipal land use planning, strategic planning and the design of urban parks.

The Triplinfinito atelier developed the museography and visual identity project, as well as signs and merchandising materials for the museum shop.

The prize, worth €50,000, was created by the Gulbenkian Foundation in honour of philanthropist Vasco Vilalva and is awarded annually to an exemplary patrimonial intervention project. Last year, it was awarded to a project to restore a Pombaline building in downtown Lisbon, designed by the José Adrião Arquitetos studio.

The award was given on 3 May to the Mayor of Ribeira Grande.