Melchisedech blessing Abraham

Opaque glass mosaic, designed by William Blake Richmond, executed by Messrs Powell of Whitefriars, completed by 1896



Together with the mosaic of Melchisedech and Abraham on the other side of the apse, this picture explores the concept of sacrifice as part of William Blake Richmond’s mosaic cycle. Both themes were considered Old Testament typologies for the Eucharist, which would have been celebrated at the reredos completed in 1888. Members of the congregation would have been able to see the mosaics just behind and above the monumental marble structure. In contrast to the Melchisedech mosaic, the design for Noah’s Sacrifice follows the more decorative panels of the scheme by applying the principle of symmetry to the overall composition, from Noah’s raised arms (which are comparable to the gesture of the angels shown in the pendentives above, see mosaic no 8553 for more information on the gesture) to the arrangement of figures and even the swirls of smoke.



Brief description: Noah with long white beard and in red and white robes depicted standing with both arms raised in prayer at the centre of the mosaic his figure facing the viewer and his head turned towards heaven, the stone altar visible behind him and curly smoke from the offerings rising up, seemingly from both his arms, to either side figures kneeling in prayer, the background depicting a mountain range at sunset or sunrise and a rainbow, consisting of thirteen different colours, inscribed “ARCVM MEUM / PONAM IN NUBIBUS” (‘I have set my rainbow in the clouds’); surrounded by a mosaic frame with a band of fruits, sheaves of wheat and vegetables against a dark blue background



Related quotes:

Genesis 8:20-22: “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took every clean animal and every clean bird, and offered burnt offering on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odour, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (NIV, the NRSV does not contain the reference to a rainbow)



Genesis 9:12-13: “Dixitque Deus: Hoc signum fœderis quod do inter me et vos, et ad omnem animam viventem, quæ est vobiscum in generationes sempiternas: arcum meum ponam in nubibus, et erit signum foederis inter me et inter terram.” (Vulgate); “God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (NRSV)



Browne 1896, p. 8: Browne 1896, pp. 8-9: “The lower panels lend themselves better to groups or figures. The subjects are, south, The Sacrifice offered by Noah ... and north, the Blessing of Abram by Melchizedek. [...] The borders of these panels are very rich, representing the fruits of the earth. It will be seen that they are in character with the beautiful wood-carvings of Gibbons on the frieze above the Choir stalls, and with the stone sculptures in relief in many parts of the Church.”



Related work elsewhere: Noah’s Sacrifice, Palatine Chapel, Palazzo Reale, Palermo, Italy, 12th century; Noah and the Rainbow and Noah’s Sacrifice, Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice, Italy, 13th century



Literature and references: Browne 1896, p. 8