The Pomegranate - Symbolism and Meaning

Dahlias and Pomegranates by Henri Matisse, 1947

We are in South Africa for the funeral of my partner’s Mum, Marie. In her garden is a large pomegranate tree. The tree was planted by Henry’s grandmother. It is now summertime here, so the tree is in full fruit, with the ripening pomegranates about to burst open. The pomegranate, or grained apple, is one of the oldest cultivated fruits in the world and has a rich symbolism and meaning.

The Pomegranate tree in the garden - 7th February 2020

Thought by some to have been the fruit that Eve shared with Adam in the Garden of Eden, it is steeped in symbolism for Jews and Christians (as well as many other faiths and ancient traditions) Pomegranates are mentioned frequently throughout the Bible; as this post describes in detail. In the Book of Exodus we learn that on instructions from God, the symbol of the pomegranate was used to decorate Aaron’s priestly robes (and has been chosen as a motif for vestments ever since), pomegranates also decorated the capitals of Solomon’s Temple (and some say Solomon’s crown was based on the crown of the fruit - whose five pointed flower is said to resemble the Star of Solomon). Pomegranates were one of the seven fruits with which the Promised Land was blessed.

The pomegranate itself is said by some to be a symbol of blessing - a generous fruit with little flesh of its own but hundreds of seeds; according to popular tradition there are 613 in each fruit, the number of mitzvot or commandments in the Torah. 

From the time of the early church, perhaps influenced by its association with new life from Greek mythology, the pomegranate has been a symbol of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ - its crown a symbol of royalty and the red juice of the seeds which pours out when the fruit bursts open when ripe, a symbol of Christ’s precious blood. To some, the plentiful seeds held in each fruit symbolise God’s generous love in which His people are held.

The Pomegranate has featured in countless works of art. As someone who grew up in Dorset I was surprised to learn that the earliest image of Christ was found when excavating a mosaic on the floor of a dining room of a Roman building in Hinton St Mary), In the mosaic (now on display at the British Museum) Christ’s head is surrounded by two pomegranates.

The earliest known image of Christ - surrounded by pomegranates - excavated at Hinton St Mary, Dorset

‘Madonna of the Pomegranate’ (1487) is one of many Renaissance paintings by Sandro Botticelli to feature the fruit. We saw this painting when we visited the Uffizi gallery in Florence. In it, Christ is holding the fruit. Some have speculated that the way the fruit has been shown (peeled) is intended to mimic the chambers of a heart - The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Madonna of the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli, 1487

Last year we saw a beautiful medieval tapestry at the Met Cloisters in New York which featured a unicorn and pomegranates. In medieval imagery, the pomegranate tree is associated with the end of a unicorn hunt - pomegranate seeds represent the drops of blood from the wounded unicorn. According to tradition unicorns can be tamed only by virgins and once captured, they are chained to a pomegranate tree, symbolising the impending incarnation of Christ.

The Unicorn in Captivity from The Unicorn Tapestries 1495-1505

A stylised ‘Fruit or Pomegranate’ is one of Morris & Company's most popular wallpaper designs.

Fruit or Pomegranate by William Morris, 1865-66

The pomegranate is also used as a heraldic symbol and can be found in the coat of arms of the Royal College of Physicians - perhaps as a result of its association with life and fertility. 

In verse, D.H.Lawrence is inspired by the Greek mythology associated with the fruit which leads him, like the Korean poet Sin Hum to reflect on the image of the splitting of the ripe fruit - the broken heart - through which we glimpse the dawn of new life:

It rained last night. The 

pomegranates,

Red and orange-red,

Have all burst open into flower.

Not to be comforted,

I sit in this cool pavilion

Set in a lotus lake

And under its glass-bead curtains wait

For my closed heart to break

(Pomegranates by Sim Hun)

For my part, I prefer my heart to be broken.

It is so lovely, dawn-kaleidoscopic within the crack.(From Pomegranate by D.H. Lawrence)

Henry and Marie in the garden taken in 2014