Christ Before Pilate

Sicilian, 16th century
Piazza Armerina Diocesan Museum

Behind Jesus are the mob and Jewish leaders we often see in such images, but the figures on the dais are unusual. A small character is pulling Jesus forward. Pilate is not washing his hands. At his left is a griffin. According to Sill (21), the griffin can symbolize "the anti-Christs, those who persecute Christians with the brutality of the lion and the power of the eagle."

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Photographed at the museum by Claire Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.