Mary ascends the stairs to the temple, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier
1602-04
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
In this scene from a noncanonical European source on the life of the Virgin Mary, her parents have brought their three-year-old daughter to the temple to be educated. According to the text it was tradition on such occasions for a priest to read a chapter from the Psalms as the child slowly progressed up each of the 15 steps. However, as soon as Mary placed her foot on the first step she pulled her hand away from her guide and quickly walked up the steep staircase without stopping or looking back. The figures around the temple gesture in surprise at her determination and eagerness to enter the service of God.
- Title: Mary ascends the stairs to the temple, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier
- Date Created: 1602-04
- Physical Dimensions: Page: 26.2 x 15.5 cm (10 5/16 x 6 1/8 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/2005.145.9.a
- Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, color and gold on paper
- Fun Fact: Mary’s instructor awaits her, book in hand, at the top of a temple of learning.
- 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: 2005.145.9.a
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