Plaque from a Reliquary

Art Historical Context

This delicate plaque, created by the anonymous Master of the Virgin Mary's Relary Casket in early13th-century Germany, adorned a reliquary—a sacred container for holy relics like saints' bones or fragments of True Cross. Measuring just 3½ by 1½ inches, its diminutive scale belies its grandeur, showcasing the pinnacle of medieval enamel artistry on a copper-gilt base. Housed in The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it exemplifies the German tradition of devotional metalwork during the High Middle Ages. The plaque employs two sophisticated enameling techniques: *champlevé*, where cel...