Reliquary in Purse Form
Unknown Artist
c. 1320
Medium
copper, gilded and engraved; glass; rock crystal; precious stones; wood core
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.172,"width":0.134,"depth":0.077}}
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1932.422
About this artwork
This precious reliquary, adorned on its front and sides with colored glass, precious stones, and two medallions featuring the enthroned Virgin and Child and an eagle, forms part of a group of closely related objects manufactured in the Upper Rhine region shortly after 1300. The purse shape, with its peaked roof and cylindrical top, derives from much earlier Carolingian and Romanesque prototypes. The reliquary was originally suspended from the rings on both sides of the sloping roof.