Editor: Chiara Petrolini – Image Gallery
Ceremonial knife (tumi) with figural finial (1470–1532)
from: South America, Peru, Central highlands
The Sacrifice of Elijah (1543)
from: Historiarum Veteris Testamenti icones ad vivum expressae. Lyon, Subscuto coloniensis, apud Ioannem & Franciscum Frellonios, frates, 1543
Louvre, Paris
A jewish Sacrifice (P. Cunaeus, La république des Hébreux) (1705)
from: Title page of: P. Cunaeus, La république des Hébreux. Où il est traité au long & à fond de la Sacrificature Mosaïque, des divers Sacrifices de l' Ancienne Loi, & des Cérémonies avec lesquelles lis étoient offerts, Amsterdam, Mortier, 1705
The sacrifice of Isaac (1311)
from: Gospels, Armenia
Harvard University, Biblioteca Berenson, 9511282
The Sacrifice of Polyxena (ca 1470-1475)
from: The Florentine Picture-Chronicle' page from the album (recto of 1889,0527.58): Pyrrhus (Neoptolemos) sacrificing Polyxena on the tomb of his father Achilles
British Museum, London
Abraham leading Isaac to the sacrifice (Ethiopian manuscript) [1800-1890]
Paris, BnF, Ms Ethiopien 389, fol. 9v
Satyrs offering a sacrifice to Pan (1510)
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milano
Sacrifice of Isaac ( Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts)
from: Warsaw picture Bible, Cod. 1164, fol. 26 (from Venice)
The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw (JHI)
Jews put to the flames (1475)
from: Historie von Simon zu Trient [Bayerische StaatsBibliothek, 2 Inc.s.a. 62#Beibd], fol. 11v
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich
Sacrificio di Gioacchino (XVII)
Chiesa di Breonio, Veneto
The offering of the Jews
Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Depiction of a satī on a map. A horned figure standing by a woman burning on a pyre (1522)
from: Claudii Ptolemaei... [Maps.C.1.d.11]
British Library, London
(1729)
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Sacrifice of Isaac (frontispiece with eleven biblical miniatures centering around the Sacrifice of Isaac) (1739)
from: BIBLE, Hebrew. Arba'ah ve-Esrim [Complete Hebrew Bible with Italian glosses and with engravings by Francesco Griselini]. Venice: Bragadini for Isaac Foa, 1739.
Braginsky Collection (Zürich & Amsterdam)
Hanuman and the monkeys assault the demons, forcing Indrajita to break off the sacrifice that would make him invincible (1597-1605)
from: The Ramayana (Tales of Rama; The Freer Ramayana), Volume 2
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
The Sacrifice of Polyxena. Folding Fan Showing the Painting of Pietro da Cortona (1730)
from: Holland
The State Ermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Martyrdom of Fray Francisco Lopez who stands before a group of native Americans who have shot him and six other Franciscans with arrows. The other Franciscans are Juan de Padilla, Antonio de Cuellar, Alois de Villa[lobos], Pedro Burgos, Francisco Donzelis, and Juan Serrano (1625)
from: Marianus, de Orscelar, Gloriosus Franciscus rediuiuus siue Chronica observantae strictioris ... eiusdemque per Christianos orbes, non solùm, sed & Americam, Peru, ... Indos Orientis, Ingolstadt, Wilhelmi Ederi, 1625, p. 330
John Carter Brown Library at Brown University
The Sacrifice of Isaac (detail of the Trittico degli Uffizi) (1461)
Firenze, Gallerie degli Uffizi
Neoptolemus sacrificing Polyxena at Achilles's tomb (1539)
from: Ovid, Metamorphoses, Paris 1539 (Denys Janot), Vol. 3, p. 150
Scene of a sati. In the foreground, a widowed woman (encountered by Della Valle on November 12, 1623) on horseback holds a mirror and a lemon amidst a crowd. In the background, a woman throws herself into the flames of a funeral pyre (1665)
from: Della Valle, Pietro, De volkome beschryving der voortreffelijke reizen van de deurluchtige reisiger Pietro della Valle, edelman van Romen, in veel voorname gewesten des werrelts, sedert het jaer 1615, tot in 't jaar 1626 gedaan. Amsterdam, Abraham Wolfgang, 1666, vol. 5, pag. 163
Charles Garnier, a Jesuit missionary, was martyred at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons on December 7, 1649. P. Carolus Garnier Nobili prosapíâ Gallus Soc: Iesu, ab Hiroqueis Gentilibus crudeliter pro Christo necatus, in Nova Francia. A. 1649 7 Decembris. (1676)
from: Tanner, Mathias, Societas Iesu usque ad sanguinis et vitae profusionem militans, Typis Universitatis Carolo-Ferdinandeae in Collegio Societatis Jesu ad S. Clementem, Prague 1675, p. 540
John Carter Brown Library at Brown University
Ibrahim about to sacrifice Ismail. Cebrail (Gabriel) stands nearby holding the ram. (Late 16th/Early 17th)
from: A miniature painting from a manuscript of Hadikat us-suada, a history of the holy martyrs of the Prophet's family [Ms Or. 12009, fol.19v]
British Library, London [from Turkey]
Ritual knife (grigug), Tibet (18th)
London, V&A Museum
The Circumcision of Christ (1620-1626)
from: France. Series: Vita Deiparae Virginis Mariae
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1455)
from: Gospels, Armenia (monastery of Gamałiēl in Xizan), Walters Manuscript W.543, fol. 4r
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
Abraham's Sacrifice (1600?-1650?)
from: Mîr Hwând, Rawzat al-safâ (Le lieu de repos des Purs) [Suppl. Persan 1567, fol. 50v]
BNF
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1421)
from: Giotto's Campanile, Florence
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Firenze
Sati Funeral Practice (1611)
from: Johannes Isacius Pontanus, "Rerum et urbis Amstelodamensium historia", Amsterdam, 1611, p. 189
The Sacrifice of Isaac (Armenian Gospel Book) (1386)
from: Lake Van, Turkey
Getty Museum, Armenian Ms. Ludwig II 6 (83.MB.70), fol. 5v
The Sacrifice of Abraham [1520]
Louvre, Paris
Execution of Jews in Trent (1475)
from: Historie von Simon zu Trient [Bayerische StaatsBibliothek, 2 Inc.s.a. 62#Beibd], fol. 10v
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich
Woman Committing Sati (17th century)
Harvard Art Museum, Boston (https://harvardartmuseums.org/art/165399)
The Adoration of the Lamb - The Song of the Elect (1511)
Louvre, Paris
The Sacrifice of Abraham (1609)
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin
De kinderen in't dal Topeth, aan den Molech ter verbrandinge overgegeven (1701)
from: Petrus Cunaeus, Willem Goeree (transl.), De Republyk Der Hebreen, of Gemeenebest der Joden, in drie boeken, Amsterdam, 1701, p. 32
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1270-1280)
from: Psalter, St John College, Cambridge, MS K.26 fol. 10r
St John College, Cambridge
Plato speaks of the sacrifice to God; men and women praying and offering sacrifices
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague
The preparation for the Passover festival: heep are slaughtered for Passover and a man purifies utensils in a cauldron over a fire (c. 1320)
from: Golden Haggadah (northern Spain)
London, British Library, Add 27210, fol. 15r
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Basilica di San Vitale, Ravenna
In the palace, Rāvaṇa and his remaining brothers and sons are bowed down by grief and Rāvaṇa wonders how he can ever be victorious in this conflict, when so many demon champions have been slain. Another son, Indrajit, boasts that he will overcome Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and sets out in his chariot, surrounded by other demons on elephants, horses and in chariots. In a separate chamber (the text actually says on the battlefield), he prepares offerings, seizing a young black goat by the neck, to the god of Fire in order to conjure up his most magical weapons and to make himself invisible. (ca 1653)
from: Ramayana [ms Add. 15297(1), fol. 97]
British Library, London [from Udaipur]
Sacrifice of Jephthah [1350 - 1400]
from: Speculum humanae salvationis (Bologna) [Arsenal, Ms 593, fol. 7v]
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Elijah confounds the prophets of Baal by putting their God to a challenge. Only Elijah's sacrifice to God is consumed by fire (III Kings 18: 25-40) (1539)
from: Britain
Boston, The Harvard Art Museums
The Sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham carrying a torch and a sword, followed by Isaac with firewood, who has no banderole with text (15th)
from: Speculum humanae salvationis Stiftsbibliothek - Cod. 166, fol. 24v
Neustift bei Brixen (Novacella), Stiftsbibliothek
a Jewish priest and high priest preparing to offer a sacrifice (1785)
from: Dandré-Bardon, Michel François, Costume des anciens peuples, a l'usage des artistes / par M. Dandré Bardon ; contenant les usages religieux, civils, domestiques & militaires des Grecs, des Romains, des Israélites & des Hébreux, des Egyptiens, des Perses, des Scythes, des Amazones, des Parthes, des Daces, des Sarmates & autres peuples tant orientaux qu'occidentaux, Paris, A. Jombert, 1784-1786, vol. 3
Samson Destroying the Temple of the Philistines (XVII)
Venezia, Museo Correr ( cl.III 1443)
The sentinel in the employ of the Shah of Tabaristan prepares to sacrifice his son to the ghost of the Shah’s soul (Mughal India, court of Akbar) (1560)
from: from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Second Night
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Sacrifice of Lystra (1529-1530)
Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Samson smashes down the pillars in the Philistines' house (Samson reißt die Säulen im Haus der Philister ein) (1601-1625)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel
Brahmin undergoing the test of fire after prolonged penance and yoga practices; Yogi dragging heavy iron chains; and a man tied to a tree who has chosen to embrace death (1670)
from: Abraham Rogerius, Le Théâtre de l’idolatrie ou la porte ouverte, Amsterdam, Jean Schipper, 1670, p. 252
L'Autel du Sacrifice, Grotesques à fond noir, Divinités et Allégories (1550-1560)
from: France
V&A Museum, London
Sacrificial instruments of the Israelites (1784)
from: Dandré-Bardon, Michel François, Costume des anciens peuples, a l'usage des artistes / par M. Dandré Bardon ; contenant les usages religieux, civils, domestiques & militaires des Grecs, des Romains, des Israélites & des Hébreux, des Egyptiens, des Perses, des Scythes, des Amazones, des Parthes, des Daces, des Sarmates & autres peuples tant orientaux qu'occidentaux, Paris, A. Jombert, 1784-1786, vol. 3
De Loting over de Twee Bokken op den Verfoendag (1701)
from: Petrus Cunaeus, Willem Goeree (transl.), De Republyk Der Hebreen, of Gemeenebest der Joden, in drie boeken, Amsterdam, 1701, p. 433
Persons bringing sacrifices to Hercules (1629)
from: Philostratus of Lemnos. Les images ou tableaux de platte peinture des deux Philostrates, sophistes grecs, et les Statues de Callistrate, tr. Blaise de Vigenère. Paris. 1629, p. 494.
The Warburg Institute, London
The sacrifice to Iphigenia (1553)
Dresden, Kupferstich-Kabinett
Jephtha sacrificing his daughter (1491)
from: Stephan Fridolin, Der Schatzbehalter, Nuremberg, Koberger, November 18, 1491, fol. 34v
British Museum, London
Self-sacrifice of King Codrus of Athens (1432)
from: Speculum humanae salvationis, Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Ms Vit. 25-7 (olim B. 19), fol. 24r
Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid
Zacharias sawn in half in a tree (1570-1580)
from: Qazwin, Iran
Dallas Museum of Art (Keir Collection), Dallas K.1.2014.1166 (III.278) folio: 231r
Sacrifice des premiers nez chez les Floridiens, expliqué à la pag. 181. / Sacrifice de la dépoūille d'un cerf, à la Floride / Caraïbe offrant la Cassave et l'Ovicou, a un poteau érigé en titre ou symbole de la Divinité (Sacrifice of the firstborn by the Floridians. 2. Sacrifice of the stag in Florida. 3. A Carib offers cassava bread at a post symbolizing the deities) (1724)
from: Plate 7 in Lafitau, Moeurs des sauvages amériquains comparées aux moeurs des premiers temps, Paris, 1724
Cain and Abel Sacrifice (1500 - 1515)
Harvard Art Museums - Fogg Museum, Cambridge
Lycaon Transformed into a Wolf (1589)
from: Metamorphoses by Ovid, book 1, plate 9
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Pagan burnt offering in ancient Austria (1734-1737)
from: Alt- und Neues Oesterreich, Oder Compendieuse Universal-Historie Von dem alt- und neuen, geistlich und weltlichen Zustand dieses Lands, Bd. 4: Oesterreichisches Heydenthum, oder Völcker-Beschreibung der alten Zeiten vor und unter den Römern […], Wien: Heyinger, 1737
UB Heidelberg, B 6526 A RES
Nine female deities (?) performing a yagna, a fire sacrifice (1800-1900)
London, Wellcome Collection
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Museo Ginori, Sesto Fiorentino
Jewish sacrificing children to demons (IXth Century)
from: Psalterium, Constantinople / Istanbul
Paris, BnF, Grec. 20, fol. 18
The woodcut on the title page of Dye histori depicts the martyrdom of Heinrich Voes and Johann van Esschen (1523). The image shows the two Augustinian monks tied to stakes amidst flames, symbolizing their execution by fire (1523)
from: Dye histori so zwen Augustiner Ordens gemartert seyn tzu Bruxel in Probant von wegen des Evangeli
The divine messenger (Agnipurusha) rises from the sacrificial fire to bear vessel of celestial food by Nadim (1597- 1605)
from: The Ramayana
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Scene of Animal Sacrifice (1668)
from: Der gantzen Welt Religionen oder Beschreibung aller Gottes- und Götzendienste wie auch Ketzereyen in Asia, Africa, America und Europa, Amsterdam, Joach. Nosch, 1668
The Sacrifice of Isaac (calco ottocentesco della formella originale) (1421)
from: Basilica di San Petronio, Bologna
Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna
The frontispiece of the Schocken Bible [1300]
from: South Germany
The Sacrifice of Isaac (Persia, Shiraz, Timurid period) (1410-1411)
from: Miniature from the Anthology of Sultan Iskandar (Persia, Shiraz)
Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon
Manuscript cutting of he Sacrifice of a ram by Abraham and Isaac [1500]
from: Italy
V&A Museum, London
Scene of a Sati, with a woman throwing herself into the flames amid a crowd playing trumpets. Above, a winged devil holds the banner with the book's title and the torch with which he lights the ritual fire. (1670)
from: Abraham Rogerius, Le Théâtre de l’idolatrie ou la porte ouverte, Amsterdam, Jean Schipper, 1670, title page
Scene of cow sacrifice on a relief brass plaques (16th-17th)
from: Benin City, Nigeria
British Museum, London
In the left foreground a camel is being slaughtered. Religion in Japan. Shown are all kinds of large and small statues of gods. With legend in Dutch and French. (1682)
from: Vries, Simon de. Curieuse aenmerckingen der bysonderste Oost en West-Indische verwonderens-waerdige dingen, deel 3, p. 109. Utrecht: J. Ribbius, 1682
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1597)
Augsburg, Dom
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1270-1274)
from: Psalterium Parisiense, Psautier dit de saint Louis (France)
Paris, BnF, Latin 10525, fol. 10
Sacrificio di Ietro
Roma, Accademia dei Lincei, Fondo Corsini
The Angel Departing from Manoah and His Wife (Victima per Manuen, domino mactatur optima: Vxor) (1584)
from: The Story of Samson, Hand-colored engravings (Netherlands)
Harvard Art Museum
Ibrâhîm [Abraham] holding a knife is about to sacrifice his son Ismâ'îl (Ishmael) who kneels before him (1580)
from: Qisas al-Anbiyâ [Qazvin?]
The New York Public Library, Spencer Coll. Persian MS. 46