Thursday, December 9, 2010

weird chalice

http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/the_cloisters/altar_frontal_with_man_of_sorrows_and_saints//objectview.aspx?OID=70006101&collID=7&dd1=7

Object Name Winding Sheet (Reproduction of)
Culture Italian
Date 19th century(?)
Medium Painted cloth
Dimensions H. 7 3/4 x W. 21 inches 19.7 x 53.3 cm

Inscriptions: Il verissimo ritratto del Santissimo/svdario di nostro signore Giesv Christo (The true copy of the sacred winding-sheet of Our Lord Jesus Christ).

manus dei, hand of god

Jean Fouquet (French (Tours), ca. 1415/20 - 1478/81)
The Right Hand of God Protecting the Faithful against the Demons
Leaf from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier
ca. 1452–1460

The Hand of God, or Manus Dei in Latin, also known as Dextera domini/dei, the "right hand of the Lord/God", is a motif in Jewish and Christian art, especially of the Late Antique and Early Medieval periods, when depiction of Jehovah or God the Father as a full human figure was considered unacceptable. The hand, sometimes including a portion of an arm, or ending about the wrist, is used to indicate the intervention in or approval of affairs on Earth by God, and sometimes as a subject in itself. It is always a artistic metaphor that is never intended to indicate that a hand was physically present or seen at any subject depicted, and there are no examples of the Hand of God actually being seen in the Bible. The Hand is seen appearing from above in a fairly restricted number of narrative contexts, often in a blessing gesture, but sometimes performing an action. In later Christian works it tends to be replaced by a fully realized figure of God the Father, whose depiction had become acceptable in Western Christianity, although not in Eastern Orthodox or Jewish art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_God_%28art%29

icon

russian old testament trinity icon w/ diamond dish

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Mesure de la plaie du côté du Christ

Paris, BNF, ms fr. 14017, fol. 31v-32.

+++

Guardians Of The Holy Grail: The Knights Templar, John The Baptist, And The ... By Mark Amaru Pinkham

'Hear now how those called to the Grail are made known. On the stone, around the edge, appear letters inscribed, giving the name and lineage of each one, maid or boy, who is to take this blessed journey. No one needs to rub out the inscription, for once he has read the name, it fades away before his eyes. All those now grown to maturity came there as children. Blessed is the mother who bore a child destined to do service there. Poor and rich alike rejoice if their child is summoned to join the company. They are brought there from many lands. From sinful shame they are more protected than others, and receive good reward in heaven. When life dies for them here, they are given perfection there. --Wolfram