Framed Continental Silk Work "Noli Me Tangere" Stumpwork Panel, 18th Century

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Description

Research note: the iconography matches Noli me tangere, with Mary Magdalene kneeling before the risen Christ, often shown in garden … Read more Research note: the iconography matches Noli me tangere, with Mary Magdalene kneeling before the risen Christ, often shown in garden or landscape settings with Christ in the role of gardener. That identification is supported by comparable institutional descriptions from the Rijksmuseum and the Met Museum.

A framed Continental devotional silkwork panel depicting the Noli me tangere, the post-Resurrection encounter between Christ and Mary Magdalene. The composition shows the Magdalene kneeling at Christ’s feet while the standing figure of Christ raises one hand in gesture, set within a worked landscape with distant architecture and a rocky foreground. The scene is executed in fine polychrome silk embroidery on a textile ground, with directional stitching used to define the folds of the garments, the contours of the figures, and the receding landscape. Narrow patterned textile borders flank the central image, giving the panel the appearance of a precious devotional object rather than a purely pictorial work.

The piece appears to be Continental European possibly Italian, likely 18th century or earlier, and was probably worked by an old master. Its appeal lies in the combination of intimate scale, religious subject, and labor-intensive needlework technique, with the silk threads creating a muted, time-softened surface of gold, blue, green, and brown tones. The panel is presented in a carved giltwood frame, which reinforces its function as a private devotional or domestic sacred image.

Measurements: 22" h x 19" w framed. See less