Image of Pity

This is a copy of a religious image - using paint which has been fired onto the surface of the glass - sometimes more than once to get the required intensity of colour. The panel has then been leaded and soldered together. Size is approx 30.5x20cms.

This image is replicated from a religious woodcut from around 1500. Similar woodcut images would have been sold by pedlars at pilgrimage shrines and fairs around the country. When purchased they would have been stuck onto the chimney for all the family to pray around. The inscription states that an Indulgence of 32,755 years was offered to those that said five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys and recited the creed while looking at the image.Although the words have been roughly crossed out with a pen (probably by a Protestant) they are still readable. The number five is associated with the five wounds of Christ. In this panel,  Christ is shown surrounded by the images of his suffering and the objects used to humiliate him. This was to assist the viewer in visualising the suffering of Christ. 

The small images around the main figure are as follows - top left to right.

The mocking solider

Peter's cockerel

Veronica's cloth

The High Priest

Pontius Pilate

The pelican in its piety

Christ's seamless garment

The Hammer and Pincers

The club and swords used in the arrest of Christ

The thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas

The three dice which the soldiers played for Christ's cloak

The nails

The chalice and host

The jar of vinegar

The jars of spices and ointments

The hand pulling Christ's hair

The ladder of the Crucifixion

The birches used for the flogging

The column, rope and scourges

Pilate's basin

The lantern used in the arrest of Christ

The hand that slapped Christ in the face in front of the High Priest

To the left of Christ: the spear that pierced his side

To the right: The stick with a sponge dipped in vinegar