Private Devotional Shrine
Unknown Artist
ca. 1490
Medium
Wood, paint, gold, translucent glazes, and metal fixtures
Dimensions
Overall (open): 13 3/16 × 11 7/8 × 2 15/16 in. (33.5 × 30.2 × 7.5 cm)
Classification
Sculpture-Wood
Culture
German
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1991
Accession Number
1991.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Private Devotional Shrine*, in Germany around 1490, exemplifies the intimate piety of late medieval Europe. Carved from wood and meticulously painted with gold leaf, translucent glazes, and with metal fixtures, the shrine opens to reveal a depiction of the Madonna and Child enthroned alongside Saint Catherine. At just over 13 inches tall when open, its portable design made it ideal for personal prayer in homes, allowing devotees to contemplate sacred figures during daily devotions—a practice central to lay spirituality in the waning Gothic era. The artwork's materials highligh...