Monstrance with the "Paten of Saint Bernward"
c. 1180–1190
Medium
silver, gilded silver, niello, rock crystal
Dimensions
34.5 × 15.9 × 14 cm · part 1: h. 13.5 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with additional gift from Mrs. R. Henry Norweb
Accession Number
1930.505
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Designed to facilitate the display and veneration of ten relics, this sumptuous ostensorium (from the Latin ostendere, meaning "to show") is one of the most unusual reliquaries in the Guelph Treasure. Elements of contemporary Gothic architecture in miniature frame an elaborately decorated liturgical paten, the shallow disc or plate used for the elevation of the Eucharist during Mass. Fragments of the True Cross are enclosed behind a rock crystal in the gable, while other saintly relics, each wra...
About the Artist
Saint Oswald Reliquary Workshop (German)
**German, Franconia (active ca. 1485–1500)** was an anonymous artist from the Franconian region of northern Bavaria, Germany, renowned for his contributions to late Gothic graphic arts. Little is known of his early life or training, as details about many anonymous masters from this era remain undocumented. Franconia, with its vibrant artistic centers like Nuremberg, fostered a rich tradition of re...