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Source Description
These intricately carved ivory panels once decorated the sides of a portable altar. Three of the plaques, those depicting Christ in Majesty and his apostles, were the first major acquisition of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–1958). As Milliken later recalled, the pieces "were immensely intriguing, monumental in scale, even if tiny in size, the Christ in the mandorla could have been enlarged and would have graced the tympanum of a great cathedral."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
104148
label
Plaque from a Portable Altar: Christ and the Apostles
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
104148
contentType
object
title
Plaque from a Portable Altar: Christ and the Apostles
description
These intricately carved ivory panels once decorated the sides of a portable altar. Three of the plaques, those depicting Christ in Majesty and his apostles, were the first major acquisition of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–1958). As Milliken later recalled, the pieces "were immensely intriguing, monumental in scale, even if tiny in size, the Christ in the mandorla could have been enlarged and would have graced the tympanum of a great cathedral."
date
1050–1100
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60779387
genreSpecific
Ivory
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 5.1 x 16.5 cm (2 x 6 1/2 in.)
cul
Germany, Lower Rhine Valley, Romanesque period, 11th century
accession
1922.307
Source extras
tec
walrus ivory
tombstone
Plaque from a Portable Altar: Christ and the Apostles, 1050–1100. Germany, Lower Rhine Valley, Romanesque period, 11th century. Walrus ivory; overall: 5.1 x 16.5 cm (2 x 6 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade, 1922.307
collection
MED - Romanesque
citations
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 13
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 11
citation
Milliken, William. "Plaques from a Portable Altar." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>21, no. m1 (January 1934): 3-6.
page_number
Reproduced: front cover; Mentioned: p. 3-6
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 99
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 48
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 48
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 52
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein<em>. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 16-17
creditline
Gift of J. H. Wade
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:37:17.636000
sourceId
104148
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Romanesque
med
walrus ivory
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3ba4bb6478a09f6e