Moses praying to end the serpents’ attack on the Israelites (folio 63 verso), from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier
Unknown Artist
1602–4
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
painting only: 18.9 × 10.5 cm · page: 26.3 × 15.6 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2005.145.63.b
About this artwork
After the Israelites complained about the difficulties of their journey out of Egypt, God punished them for their lack of gratitude by sending snakes to bite and plague them. Apparently reveling in the brutality of the scene, the artist shows men and women alike being savaged by snakes, one of whose tail slithers over the rulings of the right margin. An Israelite woman raises her hands and pleads with Moses to help them, promising repentance, and he intercedes on their behalf. Father Jerome used...