The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Reliquary in Purse Form

Reliquary in Purse Form

c. 1320
copper, gilded and engraved; glass; rock crystal; precious stones; wood core
Overall: 17.2 x 13.4 x 7.7 cm (6 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 3 1/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1932.422
Location: 106C Medieval Treasury

Description

This precious reliquary, adorned on its front and sides with colored glass, precious stones, and two medallions featuring the enthroned Virgin and Child and an eagle, forms part of a group of closely related objects manufactured in the Upper Rhine region shortly after 1300. The purse shape, with its peaked roof and cylindrical top, derives from much earlier Carolingian and Romanesque prototypes. The reliquary was originally suspended from the rings on both sides of the sloping roof.
  • Frederick Müller et Cie (sale 1927); Guillaume de St. Levé d'Aguerre (1932).
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 151 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 52 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 53 archive.org
  • Die Zeit der frühen Habsburger: Dome u. Klöster, 1279-1379 (The Time of the Early Habsburgs: Cathedrals and Monasteries, 1279-1379). Kulturabteilung des Amtes de no Landesregierung, Wien, Austria (organizer) (May 12-October 28, 1979).
    Transformations of the Court Style: Gothic Art in Europe, 1270 - 1330. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (February 2-27, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=Reliquary in Purse Form|url=false|author=|year=c. 1320|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1932.422