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The Kabbalistic “Teaching Panel” of Princess Antonia

2018; Brill; Volume: 98; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1163/18712428-09801005

1871-2428

Elke Morlok,

Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity

Abstract This article explores the complex interweaving of kabbalistic and Christological concepts within the kabbalistic “teaching panel” ( Lehrtafel ) of Princess Antonia of Württemberg. The essay discusses the artwork in the context of visual representations of the ten sefirot , the divine attributes or vessels in Jewish mysticism. Executed as an altarpiece for the church in Bad Teinach in Southern Germany, the work integrates the sefirot into a pansophic concept that served devotional and educational purposes with a salvific goal. The article argues that, with the Lehrtafel , Antonia and her teachers created a devotional object that could be accessed by both regular Christian laity and experts who possessed deeper knowledge of Kabbalah.