The term mandorla refers to the artistic interpretation of an almond shaped aura or halo surrounding holy figures such as Christ, the Virgin Mary and a few select Saints (Blackford). Literally, mandorla is the Italian word for almond (Moore); it is an ancient symbol offering hope and healing (Jensen). An example of a mandorla can be found in Ashampstead Berkshire in Ashampstead, England. Here, beams in filled with plaster rather than arched provide the perfect …showed first 75 words of 761 total…

…showed last 75 words of 761 total…image with the second circle. This developed into a fish like symbol called Icthus (Moore). Works cited: Adams, Laurie Schneider. Art Across Time. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002. http://www.elore.com/Gothic/Glossary/techniques.htm http://www.chalicswell.org.uk http://www.wisdomportal.com/Poems/mangomystery.notes.html http://www.sandplayusa.org/Mandorla.html http://www.mandorla.com/context/what.html http://www.paintedchurch.org/ashampd.htm http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/pisa/pisacathedral.html