This colorful relief scene shows the twelve apostles carrying a coffin containing
the Virgin’s body to burial. The subject is rare, based not on a Biblical
account but on later legends. The individual apostles, led by Saint John the
Evangelist, exhibit varied poses, physiognomies, and hairstyles; a few are all
but obscured by the unwieldy bier. Two fallen figures wearing unusual hats
break up the forward momentum of the march. These are likely Jewish witnesses
who, according to legend, attacked the procession only to be struck by divine
intervention, their hands rendered powerless.