The Prophets Sophonias, Ezekiel and David
Panel
16th century (made)
16th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The life of David is well documented in the books of the Old Testament. He was the youngest son of Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem, and was originally a shepherd. Eventually David became King of Israel, because of a prophecy told to the reigning king, Saul. The Gospel of St Matthew in the New Testament records David as a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ.
The Christian church has always believed that God spoke through his prophets. They were seen as the deliverers of God’s messages concerning the future, including the Coming of the Messiah. In the medieval period David was included among them. Prophet panels are also known as ‘messenger panels’, because they convey these divinely inspired prophecies or messages.
In this panel we see David holding a scroll with a passage from Psalm 47. In the Middle Ages people believed that David wrote some of the Psalms. The text on the scroll refers to God ascending among shouts of joy and trumpet blasts.
Originally, the panel would have been placed above or below a larger one depicting a scene from the New Testament. This scene would be related to the passage recorded on the prophet’s scroll. Here it would be an image of the Ascension of Christ. This arrangement is known as a ‘typology’, by which persons or events in the Old Testament are prophetic symbols of ones in the New Testament.
The Christian church has always believed that God spoke through his prophets. They were seen as the deliverers of God’s messages concerning the future, including the Coming of the Messiah. In the medieval period David was included among them. Prophet panels are also known as ‘messenger panels’, because they convey these divinely inspired prophecies or messages.
In this panel we see David holding a scroll with a passage from Psalm 47. In the Middle Ages people believed that David wrote some of the Psalms. The text on the scroll refers to God ascending among shouts of joy and trumpet blasts.
Originally, the panel would have been placed above or below a larger one depicting a scene from the New Testament. This scene would be related to the passage recorded on the prophet’s scroll. Here it would be an image of the Ascension of Christ. This arrangement is known as a ‘typology’, by which persons or events in the Old Testament are prophetic symbols of ones in the New Testament.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Prophets Sophonias, Ezekiel and David (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Clear and coloured glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain |
| Brief description | Panel of clear and coloured glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain. Depicting the Prophet David. Germany (Cologne), c.1470. |
| Physical description | Stained glass panel, tracery light depicting King David half length with a scroll inscribed David. Ascendit Deus in (jubile)...et dominus in voce tube'. Green, white and blue glass. Grisaille. Yellow stain. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | David. Ascent Deus in (jubile)...et dominus in voce tube |
| Gallery label | THE PROPHETS SOPHONIAS, EZEKIEL AND DAVID
The prophets, all holding scrolls with inscriptions, must have come from typological windows, where scenes from the New Testament are juxtaposed with scenes or sayings (prefigurations) from the Old Testament. Sophonias would have been paired with the scene of the Resurrection of Christ, Ezekiel with the Baptism, and David with the Ascension. They probably occupied the tracery lights above the scenes to which they referred, perhaps in a large cycle laid out around a cloister.
Germany (Cologne), about 1470
Museum nos. C.77 and 78-1919 (Sophonias and Ezekiel); given by J. Pierpont Morgan, Jr. C.287-1928 (David).((PW) 2003) |
| Credit line | Given by E.E. Cook Esquire. |
| Historical context | The life of David is well-documented in the books of the Old Testament. He was the youngest son of Jesse and a shepherd who eventually became king of Israel because of a prophecy told to the reigning king, Saul. The Gospel of St. Matthew in the New Testament records him as a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ. From the earliest centuries of the Christian Church it was believed that God had spoken through his prophets. So they were thought of as the deliverers of His messages concerning the future including the Coming of the Messiah. In the medieval period David was included amongst the prophets. These prophet panels are also known as 'messenger panels' because they convey these divinely inspired prophecies or messages. In this panel we see David holding a scroll with a passage from the 47th Psalm. It was believed in the Middle Ages that David was the author of some of the Psalms. The text on the scroll refers to God ascending amongst shouts of joy and trumpets blowing. The panel would have originally been placed above or below a larger panel depicting a scene from the New Testament. This scene would be related to the passage recorded on the prophet's scroll. Here it would be the image of the Ascension of Christ. This arrangement is known as a 'typology' by which persons or events in the Old Testament are prophetic symbols of persons or events in the New Testament. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The life of David is well documented in the books of the Old Testament. He was the youngest son of Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem, and was originally a shepherd. Eventually David became King of Israel, because of a prophecy told to the reigning king, Saul. The Gospel of St Matthew in the New Testament records David as a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ. The Christian church has always believed that God spoke through his prophets. They were seen as the deliverers of God’s messages concerning the future, including the Coming of the Messiah. In the medieval period David was included among them. Prophet panels are also known as ‘messenger panels’, because they convey these divinely inspired prophecies or messages. In this panel we see David holding a scroll with a passage from Psalm 47. In the Middle Ages people believed that David wrote some of the Psalms. The text on the scroll refers to God ascending among shouts of joy and trumpet blasts. Originally, the panel would have been placed above or below a larger one depicting a scene from the New Testament. This scene would be related to the passage recorded on the prophet’s scroll. Here it would be an image of the Ascension of Christ. This arrangement is known as a ‘typology’, by which persons or events in the Old Testament are prophetic symbols of ones in the New Testament. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.287-1928 |
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| Record created | June 7, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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