  About the Artwork
  
  
  Beginning as early as the tenth century, sculptures depicting Jesus on the back of a donkey were carried or rolled through towns across German-speaking lands in a reenactment of his entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter, known as Palm Sunday. Their use on this holy day lent the objects their German name: Palmesel, or Palm Donkey. Many medieval Palmesel remain in alpine regions today, where the tradition survives, offering a chance for worshippers to imagine themselves within the biblical story. This is a rare example in a North American museum collection. 

This Palmesel looks a bit worn. Its ears and the wheels that would have carried it are missing, along with one of Jesus’s feet. The touches of many hands have smoothed the donkey’s rump. Wormholes are visible across Jesus’s face, where insects bored into the wood beneath the layers of colorful paint that once enlivened the figure. Fragments of metal at the sides of his head allude to a now-lost metal halo that shone in the sun during outdoor processions. These losses and signs of wear are valuable reminders of the vital role it once played within a religious community.
  
  
  Title
  Christ Entering Jerusalem on the Back of a Donkey
  
  
  Artwork Date
  between 1480 and 1490
  
  Artist
  Christof Langeisen
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  active 1509 - 1517
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  German
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  ----------
  
  
  Medium
  Lindenwood, polychrome pigment
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 56 1/2 × 16 × 43 1/2 inches (143.5 × 40.6 × 110.5 cm)
  Overall (depth through figure&#039;s elbows): 16 inches (40.6 cm)
  Overall: 12 × 35 1/2 inches (30.5 × 90.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Gift of Lillian Henkel Haass
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  57.97
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
