Image Details
Courtesy of the trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
In the Lazarus and Cana scenes, Jesus carries a wand. The wand, common to early Christian representations of Jesus—but never mentioned in the Bible—reflects the early Christian understanding of Jesus as a magician, and not just a divine savior or teacher. (In all the scenes, Jesus holds a scroll in his left hand, a sign of authority.)
On the reverse—or inside of the hinged diptych—are recesses for wax, into which deceased parishioners’ or saints’ names may have been written.