Object Description
383 Series: THE PASSION OF CHRIST
A. CHRIST BEFORE PILATE In the middle stands Christ with bowed head, dressed in a loincloth, purple robe and crown of thorns, holding the mock scepter in his bound hands. On the right, Pilate sits on a throne under a canopy. Near him stands a bearded elder. To the left and behind Christ stand three armed men. In the background, an arcade.
Lead, oval, 57 x 43 mm.
This plaquette and the next one, as well as Crucifixion and Resurrection scenes, belong to a Passion series. Despite different sizes and a disparity in style, the plaquettes can be assigned chiefly to the workshops of Augsburg goldsmiths, particularly Matthias Wallbaum. Habich ("Beitrage zu Antonio Abondio," AMP I [1913/14], p. 105) recognized that the Christ figure was derived from a medal by Abondio (Fiala, E., Antonio Abondio, Prague 1909, 4, 7) and on that basis attributed our plaquette to Abondio. What is more likely involved here are models of an Augsburg workshop drawn from graphic prototypes by artists of various regions. This plaquette was also employed on a gilt silver locket by Johann Belitz from 1620 (Museum fuer Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt/M., Linel 801).
Other specimens: (lead) BerHn, Staatliche Museen; Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum.
Bibl.: Bange, D.M., p. 128, no. 8507, pl. 28 (as no. 5807); Weber, no. 400, 1.
