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Jesus writes on the ground, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

1602–04
(1569–1627)
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Sheet: 26.3 x 15.5 cm (10 3/8 x 6 1/8 in.); Image: 21 x 11.4 cm (8 1/4 x 4 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2005.145.130.b
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

The adulteress wears a red dress, gold rings, and a necklace under her stole.

Description

As Jesus was debating with the scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem they brought before him an adulterous woman and, hoping to incite him to violence, claimed that if Jesus followed the law of Moses he should order her to be stoned to death. Jesus responded, “Let whichever of you is without sin cast the first stone.” Then he began to write with his finger on the ground, and each of the men saw a description of his own sins. The two men in the bottom corner of the painting seem to be uncertainly holding or hiding the stones in their hands.
Jesus writes on the ground, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

Jesus writes on the ground, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

1602–04

Mughal India, Allahabad, made for Prince Salim (1569–1627)

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