Description
This scene from Walters manuscript W.106 depicts a moment when the Israelites were in the desert after their escape from Egypt. Moses (shown here with horns, a sign of his encounter with divinity) had been on Mount Sinai, alone, receiving instructions from God. The Israelites strayed from faith in God in his absence
Provenance
Léon Gruel, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 6, 1903, by purchase [see The Diaries of George Lucas]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Inscriptions
[Translation] When Moses went to the mountain to receive the Law, God said to him: 'Go down. Your people sin.' Moses descended and saw his people adoring a calf, which they made of gold and silver. When he saw this, he grew angry at them [and] hurled his tablets against the rock so that they broke; [Transliteration] Cum moyses fu al munt p[our] receivre la lei de[u] lu dit dece[n]de tun peple pecche. moysen d[e]se[n]d li vit sun peple aurer un veel q[u'i]l aveint fet d[']or e d[']argent. q[ua]nt ceo vit, li se corra, rua sa tables encuntre la roche q[u'i]l debruser[en]t.
Credit
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903
