Great-Grandmother Has Been Accidentally Praying to a ‘Lord of the Rings’ Figurine

Elrond figure

There’s a religious-like fandom for The Lord of the Rings books and film franchise, but that wasn’t what one elderly woman from Brazil meant to pray to all these years. Gabriela Brandão, a freelance makeup artist from Florianópolis, recently discovered something unusual about the tiny figurine that her daughter’s great-grandmother worships every day. The ears were pointed—like an elf—and Brandão knew that something wasn’t right. Taking to the internet, she found an identical figurine for sale online. So, what was supposed to be a statue of Saint Anthony was actually Elrond, an elf from The Lord of the Rings.

Brandão says that this was “the the funniest thing that ever happened to me,” and shared her discovery with the internet. It quickly went viral in Brazil and fans of The Lord of the Rings couldn't help but relate. Despite her amusement, Brandão didn't keep the mix-up a secret from the great-grandmother. “We tried to explain right away but she didn’t understand at first,” Brandão told BuzzFeed. “The next day we explained again and she understood and we got her a new figure of Saint Anthony.”

Here's the figure the great-grandmother was actually praying to every day…

Elrond figure

Elrond figure

…who's modeled after Elrond from The Lord of the Rings.

Elrond

Photo credit: Divulgação / New Line Cinema

What she actually wanted was this guy:

Elrond figure

Photo credit: Father Chris

She's now got an actual Saint Anthony to pray to every day. (With regular, non-pointed ears.)

h/t: [Bored Panda]

All images via Gabriela Brandão unless otherwise noted.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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