The visigothic pilaster, thought by some to be early christian, is one of the oldest pieces in which four scenes from the life of Christ are depicted.
In 1949, while restoring the side nave of El Salvador Church in Toledo and removing old cladding, they found the remains of a small mosque that mixed roman and visigothic architectural styles. One of the columns reused at this muslim site, known as the column of San Salvador de Toledo, is carved on all four sides, with the capital and base sculpted from the same block.
On two sides there are religious motifs with vessels and bread in a long frieze. On another side there are three small columns attached to the main column, showing the connection between the workshops in Mérida and Toledo, as some of the columns in the Alcazaba of Mérida have similar motifs. But it is the fourth side that is the most interesting, decorated with four scenes from the New Testament framed in superimposed fields.
These scenes are narrated in a simple manner: in each, the two main figures are face to face, with Christ on a larger scale according to the religious hierarchy. There are few secondary details, with human figures predominating. All the figures, both Christ and the people accompanying him in each scene, have their faces erased, due to the arab influence in the peninsula, which forbids any figurative representation. This human representation marks an important change, breaking with ancient christian traditions.
The first scene depicts the Resurrection of Lazarus, with Christ on the left holding his cloak in his left hand and stretching out his right hand to touch the tomb. The tomb has five steps and is decorated with motifs on the lower walls and plain on the upper part. On the right is a wall and on the left an olive tree. Inside the sepulchre, Lazarus is completely blindfolded.
The second scene shows the Healing of a Blind Man, with the blind man dressed in a short tunic and a cloak over his shoulders, using a staff in his left hand. Behind him is a suggestion of the city gate with an arch and a jamb. The blind man’s right hand is broken, so it is not known whether he was in a position of supplication. Christ is on the right, looking directly at the viewer, with a cloak crossed over his shoulder and a long tunic down to his feet, stretching out his right hand towards the blind man who is on his side looking at him.
In another scene, Christ is with the Samaritan woman at a well, divided by the well. The samaritan woman is on the left in a long robe, holding out her right hand towards the well’s bowl. Christ is to the right of the well with his body to the left and his head to the front, under a long robe.
Finally, in another scene, we see The Healing of the Haemorrhoea, with a doorway on the left built of ashlars and surmounted by three arches. Under the arch, the woman is kneeling with a long cloak and holding her head with her left hand. Christ is standing on the right with his right hand on the woman’s head.
