The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Ceremonial Cross of Countess Gertrude

1038 or shortly after

Germany, Lower Saxony?, 11th century

gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel, intaglio gems, pearls, wood core

Overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with the addition of a gift from Mrs. Edward B. Greene 1931.55

Location: 106C Medieval Treasury

Did You Know?

Countess Gertrude's name appears on the back of the cross at the bottom.

Description

This precious gold cross was commissioned by Countess Gertrude (died 1077) and given to the church of Saint Blaise following the death of her husband, Count Liudolf of Brunswick (died 1038). The cross was intended to be carried in liturgical processions or to be placed on a church altar. The inclusion of relics within the crosses endowed them with an additional role as devotional objects. At the center of the four cross arms, fine but much damaged cloisonné enamel plaques represent the symbols of the four Evangelists--an eagle for Saint John (above); a lion for Saint Mark (on the left); an ox for Saint Luke (on the right); and an angel for Saint Matthew (below). Pearls and precious and semiprecious stones are set within an intricate network of gold filigree while a large sapphire, inscribed in a circle and likewise surrounded by pearls and precious stones, is placed at the crossing.

Treasury, Cathedral of St. Blaise, Brunswick
House of Brunswick-Lüneburg
?-1931
(Goldschmidt Galleries, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1931-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Milliken, William M. "The Gertrudis Altar and Two Crosses." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 18, no. 2 (1931). pp. 23-6, 34 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 94 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. 45 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. 45 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 50 archive.org
De Winter, Patrick M. "The Sacral Treasure of the Guelphs." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 72, no. 1 (1985). pp. 30, 33, 35-36, 40-41, 43-44, 45, 47, 117, 134-135, 136, 139 no3, no; color plates II, IIIB www.jstor.org
Corbet, Patrick. “L'autel portatif de la comtesse Gertrude de Braunschweig (vers 1040): Tradition royale de Bourgogne et conscience aristocratique dans l'Empire des Saliens.” Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale, 34e année (n°134), (1991): pp 101-04, fig. 6-7 (pl. 3) www.persee.fr
Luckhardt, Jochen, and Franz Niehoff. Heinrich der Löwe und seine Zeit: Herrschaft und Repräsentation der Welfen 1125-1235 : Katalog der Ausstellung, Braunschweig 1995. München: Hirmer, 1995. no. 120, p. 226; no. 387, p. 514; no. 388, p. 515
Boockmann, Andrea. Die verlorenen Teile des 'Welfenschätzes': eine Übersicht anhand des Reliquienverzeichnisses von 1482 der Stiftskirche St. Blasius in Braunschweig. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997. pp. 30, 35, 54, 56, 59, 68, 75, 152, 157
Ehlers, Joachim, and Dietrich Kötzsche. Der Welfenschatz und sein Umkreis. Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1998. abb. 2, p. 53; abb. 3, p. 54; abb. 7, p. 295
May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. pp. 54, 116, no. 19
Peter, Michael. Der Gertrudistragaltar aus dem Welfenschatz: eine stilgeschichtliche Untersuchung. Mainz: Von Zabern, 2001. p. 185, 207, 210
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 116
García de Castro Valdés, César. Signvm salvtis: cruces de orfebrería de los siglos V al XII. Oviedo: KRK Ediciones, 2008. pp. 230- 232, fig. 40
Fliegel, Stephen N. Resplendent Faith: Liturgical Treasuries of the Middle Ages. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2009. p. 40, fig. 35
Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012. pp. 88-9
Hahn, Cynthia J. Strange Beauty: Issues in the Making and Meaning of Reliquaries, 400-Circa 1204. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012. p. 97, fig. 44
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 264
Lomartire, Saverio. "Tabula ornata lapidibus diversorum colorum": la legatura preziosa del Codice C nel Museo del Tesoro del Duomo di Vercelli. Roma: Viella, 2015. Reproduced: p. 141, fig. 31
Thümmel, Hans Georg. Ikonologie der christlichen Kunst. 2019. Mentioned; p. 164
Mikolic, Amanda. Worshiping in Place through Art: The Hidden Gems of the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude. Cleveland Museum of Art The Thinker Blog on Medium. July 16, 2020. medium.com
Staff. "Lutz Opens a Virtual Office.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 60, no. 3 (Summer 2020): 11. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 10.
Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.55