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Source Description
This octagonal reliquary, or container for saints' relics, is decorated with standing figures of eight apostles, all carved in a compact, linear style more typical of the 11th and 12th centuries. The shape of the reliquary, though, is 13th-century. The plaques are carved from bone, which was more plentiful and less expensive than elephant ivory. The reliquary, one of seven small tower-shaped vessels to survive from Cologne, originally rested on four short feet and was crowned by a knob finial.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
33139
label
Reliquary with Apostles
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
33139
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Reliquary with Apostles
description
This octagonal reliquary, or container for saints' relics, is decorated with standing figures of eight apostles, all carved in a compact, linear style more typical of the 11th and 12th centuries. The shape of the reliquary, though, is 13th-century. The plaques are carved from bone, which was more plentiful and less expensive than elephant ivory. The reliquary, one of seven small tower-shaped vessels to survive from Cologne, originally rested on four short feet and was crowned by a knob finial.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
mid 13th century (Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ivory & Bone
reliquaries
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
20
height
13.2
depth
13.3
dimensionsRaw
7 7/8 x 5 3/16 x 5 3/16 in. (20 x 13.2 x 13.3 cm)
Source extras
cul
German
style
Romanesque
inscriptions
[Transcription] Scrolls held by each apostle inscribed with carved letters filled with alternating gold gilt and paste infill read: PETRVS/S PAVLVS/S ANDREAS/S IACOES/S THOMAS/S MATHEVS/S IHILIPPVS/S IOHANNES; [Translation] Saints Peter
Paul
Andrew
James
Thomas
Matthew
Phillip
and John.[Transcription] Tablets held by evangelist symbols on the plaques of the octagonal roof are inscribed with paste infilled letters: MAR/CUS/LUC/AS/MAT/HEUS/IOH; [Translation] Mark
Luke
Matthew
and John.
med
bone on wooden frame with gilding and red and green paste inlays
creator_ids
6211
collection_ids
MED
exhibition_ids
215
2691
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4ebb0a165aee212f