Angel from an Architectural Reliquary
Unknown Artist
c. 1400
Medium
gilt bronze
Dimensions
h. 8.6 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin
Accession Number
1972.74
About this artwork
This beautiful Gothic angel is probably a surviving element from a large architectural reliquary. The last clue to its lost context disappeared when the symbolic attribute was twisted from the angel’s fingers, possibly during the destructive zeal of the French Revolution. The technique and style are characteristic of the lay workshops employed by the Valois courts during the early 1400s.