Window
Building Name: Christ Church CranbrookCity: Bloomfield Hills
Window Shape: 3 (arched)
Subject/Title of Window: Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple; Three Marys at the Tomb
Brief Description of Subject: This window, located in the baptistery, is said to date to the thirteenth century and originate in Amiens, France. It is likely that at least some of the glass dates to other periods; Simeon, for instance, appears to be from a later period.
The window is arranged in two medallions. The lower one depicts the "Presentation of the Infant Jesus at the Temple". Joseph is shown holding a basket of doves --- the prescribed offering for the Presentation. The Virgin Mary is handing the infant Jesus to Simeon who will raise the child above his head and proclaim that he has now seen the Messiah. The upper medallion is "The Three Marys at the Tomb". The Gospels differ on who and how many Mary's actually came to the tomb on the first Easter. Below the tomb is seen three sleeping Roman guards dressed in Medieval armor. The arrangement of the figures is similar to that in a painting attributed to Hubert Van Eyck called "The Three Marys at the Tomb" c. 1410; the angel sitting on the tomb is nearly identical.
This is an unusual juxtaposition of scenes on the medallions in an iconographic sense; it is possible that it is a later reconstruction of fragments from two different windows or two medallions salvaged from a much larger window.
Condition of Window: poor
Height: 6.75'
Width: 21.5"
Type of Glass and Technique: Antique or Cathedral Glass, Lead Came
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb, top
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb, bottom
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