A 16th Century Monumental Wooden Panel Of The Apostle Thomas

A large detailed panel with lots of interesting details and markings. Thomas is represented with a carpenter's square and perhaps the belt of the Virgin Mary. In picture 3 you can see a small heart on her own belt and three letters on the buckle of Virgo's belt. The Heart as a symbol of his love for Christ? Is the monogram from the manufacturer? Where are the letters referring to the Virgin or to Thomas. On the back of the panel there is a stylistic mark (probably for positioning) of the panel and a collection number. Origin: United Kingdom Height: 77.5cm The reason for the carpenter's square is a story told in the Golden Legend. A king in India sent an emissary west to find an architect who could build a Roman-style temple. Thomas introduced himself as such an architect, so the king gave him money to build the temple and set off on a long journey. When he returned, he saw no temple. Thomas had given the money to the poor and spent his time preaching and converting people. He explained to the king that his "temple" would be in paradise. Although irritated at first, the king is brought to believe in Christ. The sash of the Virgin Mary Thomas is most famous, aside from his mission to India, for the Doubting Thomas episode (John 20:24-29) where he missed the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to the other ten apostles, and said he would not believe that Jesus had returned until he felt his wounds. In the story of the girdle, at the Assumption of Mary, where the other apostles were present, Thomas once again missed the opportunity (being on his way back from India), so the Virgin Mary, conscious of Thomas' skeptical nature, appeared to him individually and dropped the belt she was wearing on him, to give him physical proof of what he had seen. Former Koldewij collection, Netherlands (1973)