Christ and the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus

Metz, Circa 850-900
Carolingian ivory plaque
The Cloisters, New York City

This is a quite literal illustration of Christ's appearance on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection (Luke 24:13-35). On the left, "they drew nigh to the town, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go farther. But they constrained him; saying: Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent" (24:28-29a). Jesus, the one with the halo, points away to the left, as if to go further, while the disciple on the right gestures toward Emmaus, which is pictured as a walled citadel because in the Vulgate it is called a castellum.

The right side illustrates Luke 24:30-31a: "And it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread, and blessed, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him" (24:30-31a). In the ivory Jesus holds his right hand over the bread with his fingers formed into the blessing gesture. The disciples have taken the already broken bread into their hands.

Read more about images of the Emmaus episode.

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• Iconography of the Resurrection
• This Picture

Photographed at the Cloisters by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.