Image Details

© RMN-GRAND PALAIS / ART RESOURCE, NY

A SINGLE SISTER. This 5-inch-long silver reliquary known as the Capsule of Brivio dates to the fifth century and was discovered at Brivio in northern Italy. On its lid, shown here, is a depiction of the raising of Lazarus, whose shrouded body emerges from a domed tomb. Remarkably, however, there is only one sister kneeling before Jesus. Other early depictions of this scene, on sarcophagi and other objects, similarly present a single sister. Such images provide a tantalizing indicator that the earliest traditions about Lazarus and his family may have involved one woman rather than two.