Santiago cathedral, Pórtico da Gloria, central doorway, Elders of the Apocalypse, symbol of St. John
On the central doorway of the Pórtico da Gloria, the tympanum presents the Second Coming of Christ as judge, displaying his wounds and accompanied by figures of the four evangelists and their symbols, angels bearing the instruments of the Passion, and the souls of the blessed. The framing arch displays the twenty-four elders of the apocalypse holding flasks and a remarkable variety of musical instruments (Revelation 4: 4; 5: 8). These are the seventh to eleventh elders, counting from the left, and their instruments are shown in great detail. From left to right, they are a three-stringed oval fiddle played with a bow; a harp designed for sixteen strings; an oval stringed instrument (perhaps an oud – the ancestor of the lute) plucked with a plectrum; a triangular zither, played on the lap; and a three-stringed fiddle in a figure-eight shape played with a bow. See: El Pórtico de la Gloria: Música, Arte y Pensamiento. Ed. Carlos Villanueva. Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia, 1988.
D'Emilio photo archive no. b19803734u (13.05.08/JD)Galleries:Archivolts with figural decoration, Galicia 1180s, Galicia 1190s, Musical Instruments, O Pórtico da Gloria, the west porch and portals of Santiago cathedral, St. John, apostle and evangelist, String Instruments, Twenty-Four Elders of the ApocalypseKeywords:fiddle, flask, harp, zitherPhoto Location: Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), SpainPhotographer: Dr. James D’EmilioDevice Make: NikonDevice Model: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 EDOriginal Dimensions: 5623×3539Picture Orientation: LandscapeGPS Coordinates:Picture Number: 22745
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