Details

LOT 0395

Stained Glass Panel with the Pentecost

FLEMISH, 19TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER

25 1/2 x 21 in. (4.5 kg, 65 x 53.5 cm).

In late 15th century style, showing praying nimbate Mary at the centre, dressed in a blue cloak and a long white cassock, Mary Magdalene at her side with her head raised towards the sky; eleven Apostles surrounding the women, dressed in long tunics and cloaks, receiving the Holy Spirit in the form of small tongues resting on their heads; architectural background and Flemish inscription ‘DE ZENDING VAN DE HEILIGE GEEST’ (The Descent of the Holy Spirit) below; some restoration. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From a war-damaged church in Belgium.
Ex property of a late Northumberland collector.
From a private collection, Derbyshire, UK.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Literature

Cf. similar image in Studenbuch der Maria von Burgund, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Wien, cod.1857 folio 50v.

Footnotes

The scene represents the Christian feast of the Pentecost, described in Acts, 2,1-4, when the eleven Apostles, gathered in Jerusalem together with Mary Mother of God and Mary of Magdala (the latter only according to some traditions) received the Holy Spirit as a mighty rushing wind and under the form of tongues of fire. According to the Christian tradition, this event represents the fulfilment of the promise that Christ will baptise his followers with the Holy Spirit and fire.