Reliquary Pendant with Hounds Coursing a Hare
Unknown Artist
late 14th century
Medium
Silver, gilded silver, and niello
Dimensions
Overall: 2 1/4 x 1 x 1/4 in. (5.7 x 2.5 x 0.7 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver
Culture
German
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Rainer M. Zietz, 1985
Accession Number
1985.137
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite reliquary pendant, in late 14th-century Germany, exemplifies the intricate metalwork of the Gothic era. Measuring just 2 1/4 x 1 x 1/4 inches, it designed as a wearable devotional object, likely housing a small holy relic such as a saint's bone fragment or cloth. Hung from a chain around the neck, such pendants blended piety with personal adornment, reflecting the medieval fusion of faith and fashion among the devout nobility. The front features a dynamic scene of hounds coursing a hare, a popular hunting motif symbolizing speed, pursuit, and the thrill of the chase—common in E...