Monstrance with a Relic of Saint Sebastian
Unknown Artist
1484
Medium
gilded silver, rock crystal, bone, parchment
Dimensions
h. 47 cm · 47.3 × 19.4 × 15.9 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Julius F. Goldschmidt, Z. M. Hackenbroch, and J. Rosenbaum in memory of the Exhibition of the Guelph Treasure held in the Cleveland Museum of Art from 10 January to 1 February 1931
Accession Number
1931.65
About this artwork
This Late Gothic monstrance (from the Latin monstrare, "to show") is mentioned in the earliest inventory of Saint Blaise as "a large new monstrance containing relics of Saint Sebastian the martyr." Judging from surviving receipts, the reliquary was made by Werner Korff, a local goldsmith, who received payments for silver and gilding at the end of 1484. The reliquary was first displayed on the altar of the church of Saint Blaise in a solemn penitential mass on June 4, 1484, in an effort to ward o...