The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 1, 2023

Pendant Icon with the Virgin "Dexiokratousa" and Frame with Winged Bull of Saint Luke on the back

Pendant 1100s; Frame mid 1300s

Part of a set. See all set records

Byzantium (pendant); Germany, Aachen (frame), Byzantine period, 12th century (pendant); Byzantine period, 14th century

(frame)

Steatite, gilt silver, pearls

Overall: 6.8 x 6.3 x 1.6 cm (2 11/16 x 2 1/2 x 5/8 in.); Chain: 13.6 cm (5 3/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1951.445

Location

105 Byzantine

Description

This small-scale Byzantine icon depicts a half-length figure of the Virgin holding the Christ child. When the icon was mounted in its present frame by a German artist in the 14th century, it was considered to be an authentic portrait painted by Saint Luke. This claim, made in an inscription on the frame, is further emphasized by the ox, Saint Luke’s symbol, engraved on the frame’s reverse.

Provenance
Treasury of the Cathedral of Aachen; bequeathed in 1804 to the Empress Joséphine of France (1763-1814), Paris; by inheritance to her son Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, prince of Venice and duke of Leuchtenberg (1781-1824), Paris; Henri Daguerre, Paris; César de Hauke, Paris
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 40 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. 40 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. 42 archive.org
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. 76-77, no. 20
Bagnoli, Martina. Treasures of heaven: saints, relics, and devotion in medieval Europe. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2010. Reproduced: cat. no. 114, p. 199 - 200
Fajt, Jiří. Emperor Charles IV: 1316-2016 : Exhibition Guide : National Gallery in Prague - Waldstein Riding School, 15 May - 25 September 2016, Charles University in Prague - Karolinum, Cloister, 14 May - 31 August 2016. Prague : National Gallery, 2016. Mentioned: p. 56; Reproduced: p. 57
Fajt, Jiří, and Markus Hörsch, eds. Kaiser Karl IV., 1316-2016: erste Bayerisch-Tschechische Landesausstellung : Ausstellungskatalog. Praha: Národní Galerie v Praze, 2016. Mentioned: p. 366-367; Reproduced: p. 366, fig. 6.4
Zchomelidse, Nino. "Liminal Phenomena: Framing Medieval Cult Images with Relics and Words." Viator. 47, no. 3 (2016): 243-296. Mentioned: p. 264-265; Reproduced: p. 290, fig. 21
Exhibition history

Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).

Charlemagne. Hisotorical town hall, cathedral and cloister, Aachen, Germany (June 26-September 19, 1965).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.445