Arma Christi
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Arma Christi, or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Christ used to achieve his conquest over Satan. There is a group, at a maximum of about 20 items, which are frequently used in Christian art, especially in the Late Middle Ages. Typically they surround either a cross or a figure of Christ of the Man of Sorrows type, either placed around the composition, or held by angels.
The instruments of the Passion. Left to right: the cross of the penitent thief Dismas, ladder, sponge on reed, hammer, angels, Cross of Christ, cock, star, pincers, ladder, spear, cross of the wicked thief Gestas, and two hyssop plants growing from the ground (église Saint-Pierre de Collonges-la-rouge).
The instruments of the Passion (cont). Left to right: chalice, torch, lantern, sword, flagellum, pillar of flagellation, Veronica's veil, 30 pieces of silver, dice, reed sceptre, hand which struck Christ, torch, pitcher of gall and vinegar.
Pietà with Arma Christi, Lorenzo Monaco, 1404
Andachtsbilder
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Andachtsbilder is a German term often used in English in art history for Christian devotional images designed as aids for prayer or contemplation. The images "generally show holy figures extracted from a narrative context to form a highly focused, and often very emotionally powerful, vignette".
Man of Sorrows, Geertgen tot Sint Jans, Dutch, 1486, 25 x 24 cm, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht.
Early Bohemian Pietà of 1390–1400
An early Man of Sorrows by the Italian artist Pietro Lorenzetti, c. 1330