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Source Description
This pax, a liturgical object which was ceremonially kissed by the priest and then by the communicants during the mass, is carved in elephant ivory. The shape of the tusk is reflected in the curved surface of the pax. The scene shows the Virgin Mary in the middle, holding the Christ Child, flanked by St. Catherine (with a wheel and the martyr's palm) and St. John the Baptist (holding the lamb). The ground is crosshatched; part of the pointed arch framing the scene is broken off. An inset handle on the back facilitates the holding of the object.A similar pax with the same iconography but finer carving is in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
34228
label
Pax with the Virgin and Saints
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
34228
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Pax with the Virgin and Saints
description
This pax, a liturgical object which was ceremonially kissed by the priest and then by the communicants during the mass, is carved in elephant ivory. The shape of the tusk is reflected in the curved surface of the pax. The scene shows the Virgin Mary in the middle, holding the Christ Child, flanked by St. Catherine (with a wheel and the martyr's palm) and St. John the Baptist (holding the lamb). The ground is crosshatched; part of the pointed arch framing the scene is broken off. An inset handle on the back facilitates the holding of the object.A similar pax with the same iconography but finer carving is in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
provenance
William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1440-1460 (Late Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ivory & Bone
paxes
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 9/16 in. (9 cm)
Source extras
style
Gothic
med
ivory
creator_ids
6227
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
85bce476bc40e07b