[An image of Saint Ottilia with reading stones].
Reading stones to facilitate reading in cases of presbyopia are mentioned in the literature, for example in the works of the Middle High German poet Albrecht and of Konrad of Würzburg. Most representations of the abbess, Saint Ottilia, show her holding a book with a pair of eyes in her hands. A gothic altarpiece (1485-1490), kept in the museum of the Premonstratensian Canons of Wilten in Innsbruck, Tyrol, shows a triune representation of St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin, with Mary and Jesus and St. Ursula with her companions. St. Ottilia is depicted on the edge of the painting. Two lenses, one on either side of the open book in her hand, magnify the letters underneath. As the two lenses are not held together by bows or similar devices, they are probably a rare representation of reading stones. The alter showing scenes of the life of St. Mary and St. Ursula was done by Ludwig Konraiter. A panel on the same alter, depicting the death of the Virgin, shows an apostle with rivet spectacles.
Daxecker
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Universitäts-Augenklinik Innsbruck.
Broucek
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D001317:Austria; D005139:Eyeglasses / Q000266:history*; D049668:History, 15th Century; D006801:Humans; D008512:Medicine in the Arts; D010151:Paintings / Q000266:history*; D011305:Presbyopia / Q000266:history*