“They preach not by speaking out loud but by signifying”: Vitreous Arts as Typology
Herbert L. Kessler
By citing such scriptural authorizations as the desert tabernacle and its furnishings to justify art, Christian defenders of physical images sought neutralize risk idolatry in material images. Metallic vitreous arts—mosaic, stained glass, enamel—crafted from sand, pigments, metal under intense heat not only approximated gems lustrous matter sanctioned objects but also comprehended mechanism metamorphosis that mimicked process finding redolent meaning literal Jewish accounts represented on them. In aiming reveal truth beneath surface, crafting figuring was an analogue typology. The brazen serpent a prime example; cited by Christ himself, it both supported claim sacred had replaced scripture just fulfilled Old Testament “prophecies” with his person taken evoke Christ's two natures combination figure material, snake signifying humanity bronze divinity. When rendered enamel or moreover, served synecdoche art more generally, encapsulating relationship New, antithesis exaltation humiliation essence person, relation image salvation, complementarity object depiction. Like other prefigurations materials, demonstrated exegetic unfolding elevation were perfectly harmonious, thereby neutralizing any fear demonstrating objects, words, bearers meaning.
Gesta