Editing Pomegranate (section)

=== In European Christian motifs ===
[[File:Botticelligranat bild.jpg|thumb|left|Detail from [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli's]] ''[[Madonna of the Pomegranate]]''  c.{{nbsp}}1487]]

In the earliest incontrovertible appearance of Christ in a mosaic, a fourth-century floor mosaic from [[Hinton St Mary]], Dorset, now in the [[British Museum]], the bust of Christ and the [[chi rho]] are flanked by pomegranates.<ref>Paul Stephenson, ''Constantine, Roman Emperor, Christian Victor'', 2010:1 and fig. 1.</ref>
Pomegranates continue to be a motif often found in [[Christianity|Christian]] religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric of [[vestment]]s and [[Antependium|liturgical hangings]] or wrought in metalwork. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of [[Sandro Botticelli]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]], often in the hands of the [[Virgin Mary]] or the [[infant Jesus]]. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' [[Death of Jesus|suffering]] and [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]].<ref name=PomRel />