Chasse
Unknown Artist
c. 1225–50
Medium
copper: repoussé, engraved, stippled, and gilded; champlevé enamel; oak core
Dimensions
24.7 × 24.2 × 10.4 cm
Classification
Enamel
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of S. Livingstone Mather, Constance Mather Bishop, Philip R. Mather, Katherine Hoyt Cross, and Katherine Mather McLean in accordance with the wishes of Samuel Mather
Accession Number
1940.347
About this artwork
A chasse is a container with a pyramid-shaped roof that once served as a shrine for sacred relics. During the medieval period, chasses like this one were placed on church altars during high feast days to allow the faithful to venerate their sacred contents. The chasse’s design and imagery follow a common formula with Christ’s Crucifixion and Majesty decorating the central fields of its principal face. The back consists of two panels with identical decoration. Each features three busts of angels ...