THE LILY OF THE ANNUNCIATION 173 



naturally it is most often the lily of purity which 

 fills the vase. 



In the Annunciation of Albert Durer's 

 * Smaller Passion ' ' the hly growing in its humble 

 earthen pot undeniably refers to the perfect 

 sinlessness of the soul which was yet to be born, 

 for the flowers are still each tightly folded in its 

 bud, while in the culminating scene of the 

 series, where the Saviour sits in judgment, 

 the lily, with each calyx fully expanded, is 

 shown with the sword of justice behind His 

 head. 



Northern symbolism, always deeper and 

 more complicated than that of the South, re- 

 quired that the vase which contained the lilies 

 should be transparent, thus indicating the per- 

 fect purity of the body which enshrined the soul 

 of perfect innocence. ' In so far that the glass 

 allows all surroundings to shine through without 

 being itself harmed, it has become the symbol 

 of the Immaculate Conception. Therefore in 

 pictures of the Annunciation a blossoming lily 

 stalk in a transparent glass is placed at the feet 

 of the Virgin.' ' 



' British Museum. ^ W. Menzel, Christliche Symbolik. 



