BARTHOLOMEW

Bartholomew and Nathanial are held to be names for the same person about whom the Bible tells very little. Jesus said of him, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile" (John 1:47). According to traditional information, Bartholomew won King Polymus of Armenia to Christianity, but it happened that the brother of this king was so angry at Bartholomew that he had him flayed to death. Bartholomew stands holding a book (the gospel according to Matthew) and the flaying knife, the symbol of his martyrdom. In the scene behind Bartholomew's head, he is seated under the fig tree as Jesus said, "I saw you under the fig tree before Phillip spoke to you" (John 1:49-51).

Dedication: "In Memory of Lamkin, Zeigler and Legangood"

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