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

1602-04

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

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.

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  • Title: Jesus writes on the ground, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier
  • Date Created: 1602-04
  • Physical Dimensions: 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.)
  • Provenance: An Indian family in Great Britain, whose grandfather brought the manuscript to England in the 1930s or 1940s through 2005, (Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd., London, UK, 2005, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2005-present
  • Type: Manuscript
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2005.145.130.b
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, color and gold on paper
  • Fun Fact: The adulteress wears a red dress, gold rings, and a necklace under her stole.
  • Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Culture: Mughal India, Allahabad, made for Prince Salim (1569–1627)
  • Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund
  • Collection: Indian Art
  • Accession Number: 2005.145.130.b
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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