sudarium
/s(j)uːˈdɛːrɪəm
/noun (plural sudaria /s(j)uːˈdɛːrɪə/)
(In the Roman Catholic Church) another term for veronica (sense 2).The figure is artfully foreshortened, engaging in a sweeping contrapposto to provide a virtuoso ‘frame’ for the sudarium, the origin of all cult images, made without human hands from the face of Christ....
- Counter-posed to such diabolical artifice is the sacred prototype of holy icons, pictured on the painted frame above the idol: the sudarium of Veronica.
- As is normal in representations of the Last Judgment, the sudarium does not appear among the arma christi born by angels in the uppermost zone of the fresco.
Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin, literally 'napkin', from sudor 'sweat'.