What were you thinking while you drew this?

A drawing made by Said, an artist in Tangier and secular muslim, from a photograph I took (as a secular jew) of a section of a stained-glass window in the Cloisters in New York City, New York. Said is a lively one and came back with a whole philosophy of symbols I had never heard. I personally though of puppetry when I saw this. I was involved in a puppetry show at the time and this exemplified a puppet when not animated by its creator or pupeteer. Puppet are always used as allegory (if not slapstick) I thought the relationship between religion, storytelling and allegory were worth exploring, to see what allegory people from different religions would cull from this image. Said was most interested in numbers and in the dove with a halo that is at once part of god's beard and as if pecking at Jesus' head.