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Source Description
The principal decoration of this portable altar is carved of walrus ivory. On the long sides are traditional figures of standing apostles. On the short sides are the seated Virgin with the Magi, and Christ the Judge between the symbols of the Evangelists. The commercial ties between the Rhineland and the Norse peninsula made walrus ivory easily available to the city of Cologne, one of the most important artistic centers in medieval Germany.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
109126
label
Portable Altar
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
109126
contentType
object
title
Portable Altar
description
The principal decoration of this portable altar is carved of walrus ivory. On the long sides are traditional figures of standing apostles. On the short sides are the seated Virgin with the Magi, and Christ the Judge between the symbols of the Evangelists. The commercial ties between the Rhineland and the Norse peninsula made walrus ivory easily available to the city of Cologne, one of the most important artistic centers in medieval Germany.
date
c. 1200–1220
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60779199
genreSpecific
Ivory
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 13.1 x 26.9 x 16.9 cm (5 3/16 x 10 9/16 x 6 5/8 in.)
cul
Germany, Cologne
accession
1927.29
Source extras
tec
walrus ivory, gilded copper, porphyry, champlevé enamel, wood core
tombstone
Portable Altar, c. 1200–1220. Germany, Cologne. Walrus ivory, gilded copper, porphyry, champlevé enamel, wood core; overall: 13.1 x 26.9 x 16.9 cm (5 3/16 x 10 9/16 x 6 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1927.29
collection
MED - Gothic
citations
citation
Milliken, William M. (1927). "Two Medieval Objects from the Rhineland in the J. H. Wade Collection". <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art,</em> <em>14</em>(4).
page_number
pp. 56-63
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. 15
citation
Winter, Patrick M. de. “The Sacral Treasure of the Guelphs.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 1 (March 1985): 2–160.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 99, fig. 124; Mentioned: p. 101
citation
Piña, Leslie A. <em>Furniture in History, 3000 B.C.-2000 A.D</em>. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010.
page_number
p. 25
citation
García de Castro Valdés, César, and Gerardo Boto Varela. El Arca Santa de Oviedo: contexto de producción, iconografía y significado. 2020, 298.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 298.
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-10 17:57:19.348000
sourceId
109126
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Gothic
med
walrus ivory, gilded copper, porphyry, champlevé enamel, wood core
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
cf3a12e86c0e2adf