Angel with the Arma Christi, Master Arnt of Kalkar, c. 1480
Master Arnt was the most important late 15th-century woodcarver in the German-Dutch border area. He carved this angel dressed as a deacon (assistant to the priest during Mass) in a choir robe. The angel holds an armoured helmet adorned with Christ’s crown of thorns and his shirt. These are some of the Arma Christi, the symbolic instruments of Christ’s Passion.