It’s a door. I sometimes wonder whether these things justify an entire riveting blog post of their own, but I remind myself that the museum has felt worthy enough to put it on display, so it’s the least I can do…..
This is an church door from Gnadenkirche Leipzig-Wahren, a church which is still standing today. The church was rebuilt in stone around 1200, which is from when the door is also dated, with the original having been made from wood.
The door itself is made of oak, but with wrought iron decoration which shows a sinful person being dragged by the devil into the flames of hell. What a lovely positive piece of imagery every time someone came in…. But, at the top, there is a twelve-leaf tree of life which is meant to represent salvation and hope. It’s very much damnation below and redemption above.
I’m not quite sure when it was decided that it would be better for this door to be in the museum rather than in the church, but I like the heritage that it has and that is has survived for so long in its faithful service.