The technique is similar to Giuseppe Sanmartino's 1753 statue Veiled Christ in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples.

The statue was transported to Newfoundland in 1856, as recorded on December 4 in the diary of Bishop John Thomas Mullock: "Received safely from Rome, a beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in marble, by Strazza.

The bust has since remained under the care of Presentation Sisters, in Cathedral Square, St.

[1] In the context of the Risorgimento, the Veiled Virgin was intended to symbolize Italy.

Marble busts of veiled women were a popular theme among Strazza's contemporaries, the most important of whom were Pietro Rossi and Raffaelle Monti.