Raising The Meaning Of Antiquity In Art ~ A Beautiful Example
This incredible work of art could be much older than the 1800’s as this type of metal work dates back thousands of years.
This image is depicting what I believe to be Mary Magdalene preparing to wash the feet of Jesus. It is not associated with any particular religious domination, other than being representative of the early Christian practice of washing feet. From a practical perspective, during Christ’s time here, they walked long distances and wore sandals, therefore their feet would be dusty after a journey.
In this image, you can also see the man who is standing, holding a basin under his chin, and appears to be washing his beard. The details in this imagery are etched using some type of fine tool, giving the appearance of penciling. It is truly a balanced, inspired, and detailed work of art.
From a symbolic perspective of servitude, foot washing depicts the act of humbling oneself to serve others. To paraphrase what I have learned about Mary Magdalene: In this scene you can see the woman holding up a small flask with anointing oils. In Biblical stories Mary Magdalene is the woman who became a devout follower of Christ. Prior to that, she had great resentment toward her husband, who had divorced her for another woman.
She lost a significant dowry because women were not permitted to own land. Apparently her father was at one time a wealthy landowner. Her husband may have married her for the dowry, as he did not come from a background like hers. This particular information is not described in the Bible, but rather extrapolated from different historical documentaries. There is credibility to the history because her family name Magdalene is similar to the village where she was born called Magdala.
After her husband divorced her, she was angry and rebellious. Rather than live in poverty, as a young beautiful woman, she became the mistress of various rich and powerful Roman generals. One of them, or perhaps more than one of them mistreated her, beat her, and then discarded her. As a result, she became even more embittered toward men. She is the woman described in the Bible as having seven demons that were cast out by Christ.
The final Roman general she was with, was smitten with her, and took revenge on her ex-husband by attacking and burning the village of Magdala, which is where she grew up. After that she realized the error of her bitterness and lifestyle. She is the woman who went to Jesus in front of many witnesses, and begged for forgiveness, washing his feet with her tears, then drying them with her hair, and applying essential oils.
Mary Magdalene has been the focus of much speculation, and fictional heresies such as were written about in the book the Da Vinci Code. However, what is known is that she became a follower of Christ, and grew up near the Sea of Galilee.
She spent time with Christ and His disciples, and stood at the cross during His crucifixion, mourning alongside His mother and aunt. She was also the first to see Him when he rose from the dead, and ran back to tell the rest of the disciples. Little is known about her following the death and resurrection of Christ.
The entire plate is hand wrought with all the open work, and copper edging done by hand. The raised image portion in the middle is meticulously hand etched in every detail. It measures 11.5″ in diameter. It has been wiped with a cloth, but I did not want to risk using any chemicals on it. It has no artist signatures or markings.
The following is another link to the origin and methodology of hand wrought repousse work on metal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing
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