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Source Description
This pendant was made in the Rhine-Meuse region—now in modern Belgium—renowned for the production of fine metalwork objects, especially enamels. An enamel plaque depicting the enthroned Virgin and Christ child dominates the pendant. Four peripheral enamels depict angelic figures representing virtues: Humility, Virginity, Piety, and Mercy, each identified by an inscription. The pendant may have been made to serve as a reliquary to house a consecrated host. The refined craftsmanship and costly materials fittingly honor these sacred remains.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
108743
label
Pendant with the Virgin and Child
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
108743
contentType
object
title
Pendant with the Virgin and Child
description
This pendant was made in the Rhine-Meuse region—now in modern Belgium—renowned for the production of fine metalwork objects, especially enamels. An enamel plaque depicting the enthroned Virgin and Christ child dominates the pendant. Four peripheral enamels depict angelic figures representing virtues: Humility, Virginity, Piety, and Mercy, each identified by an inscription. The pendant may have been made to serve as a reliquary to house a consecrated host. The refined craftsmanship and costly materials fittingly honor these sacred remains.
date
c. 1160–1170
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60755694
creators
9532
genreSpecific
Enamel
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 19.8 x 17 x 3.2 cm (7 13/16 x 6 11/16 x 1 1/4 in.)
cul
Mosan, Meuse Valley, Romanesque period, 12th century
accession
1926.428
Source extras
tec
gilded copper, champlevé enamel; the reverse decorated in vernis brun
tombstone
Pendant with the Virgin and Child, c. 1160–1170. Circle of Godefroid de Huy (Netherlandish). Gilded copper, champlevé enamel; the reverse decorated in vernis brun; overall: 19.8 x 17 x 3.2 cm (7 13/16 x 6 11/16 x 1 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1926.428
collection
MED - Romanesque
inscriptions
inscription
S[AN]C[T]A MARIA MATER D[OMI]NI
inscription_remark
Around the Virgin Mary in the central panel.
inscription
HVMILITAS; VIRGINITAS; MISERICORDIA; PIETAS
inscription_translation
Virtues: Humility, Chastity, Mercy, Piety
inscription_remark
With each angel from top to bottom and right to left, starting with the right shoulder of the Virgin.
didYouKnow
The outer lobes contain cabochons, gemstones that have been shaped and polished resulting in a rounded top and flat bottom, of garnet, glass, and quartz.
citations
citation
Roddaz, Camille de. <em>Les merveilles de l'art ancien en Belgique; ou, L'Art ancien à l'exposition nationale de 1880.</em> Bruxelles: Rozez, 1890.
page_number
p. 17
citation
Hôtel Drouot. <em>Objets d'art et de haute curiositʹe</em>. 1890.
page_number
p. 7, no. 1
citation
Migeon, G. "La collection de M.G. Chalandon," <em>Les Arts</em> (June, 1905).
page_number
pp. 20 & 26
citation
Ricci, Seymour de. <em>Exposition d'objects d'art du moyen age et de la Renaissance; tires des collections particulieres de la France et de l'etranger organisee par la Marquise de Ganay a l'ancien Hotel De Sagen (Mai-Juin 1913).</em> Paris: Emile Levy, 1913.
page_number
pl. XLVI
citation
Milliken, William M. "Early Enamels in the Cleveland Museum of Art," <em>Connoisseur</em> (October 1926).
page_number
pp. 67-8
citation
Milliken, William M. "A Reliquary of Champlevé Enamel from the Valley of the Meuse the J. H. Wade Collection." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 14, no. 4 (1927).
page_number
pp. 51-4
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
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. <em>Arts of the Middle Ages</em>; A Loan Exhibition, February 17 to March 24, 1940. Boston, Mass: Museum of Fine Arts, 1940.
page_number
no. 244
citation
Milliken, William. "Silver Jubilee Exhibition." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>28, no.6 (June 1941): 88-108
page_number
Mentioned: p. 91; Reproduced: p. 97
citation
Bates, Kenneth F., and Laurence Schmeckebier. <em>Enameling: Principles and Practice.</em> Cleveland: World Pub. Co, 1951.
page_number
p. 86, fig. 47
citation
Milliken, William. "Four Champlevé Enamel Panels." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>38, no. 4 (April 1951): 72-74.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 72
citation
J. de Borchgrave d'Altena, "Émaux Mosans du XIIe Siècle," <em>Reflects du Monde</em> 3 (1952).
page_number
p. 11
citation
Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, and Everett Parker Lesley. <em>Enamel, An Historic Survey to the Present Day.</em> 1954.
page_number
no. 27, fig. 3.
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. 108
citation
Lowry, Bates.<em> The Visual Experience: An Introduction to Art. </em>Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1961.
page_number
p. 180
citation
Verdier, Philippe "Un monument inédit de l'art mosan de XIIe siècle," <em>Revue Belge</em> XXX (1961).
page_number
p. 127, 131, fig. 8
citation
Bober, Harry "Medieval Art at Cleveland" <em>Apollo</em> LXXVII no. 22 (1963).
page_number
pp. 448, 454
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. 49
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. 49
citation
Gauthier, Marie-Madeleine. <em>Émaux du moyen âge occidental. </em>[Paris]: Office du livre, 1973.
page_number
pp. 138-9, 352, no. 96
citation
Kunsthalle Köln, Schnütgen-Museum, Belgium, and Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire (Belgium).<em> Rhein Und Maas</em>, Kunst Und Kultur, 800-1400. Eine Ausstellung Des Schnütgen-Museums Der Stadt Köln Und Der Belgischen Ministerien Für Französische Und Niederländische Kultur, Vom 14. Mai Bis 23. Juli 1972 in Der Kunsthalle Köln, Vom 15. September Bis 31. Oktober 1972 in Den Königlichen Museen Ür Kunst Und Geschichte in Brüssel. Köln: [Schnütgen-Museum], 1972.
page_number
pp. 211, 213, figs. 26-7
citation
Verdier, Philippe "Emaux Mosans et Rheno-mosans dans les collections des Etats-Unis," <em>Revue Belge</em> XLIV (1975).
page_number
pp. 66-9
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. 53
citation
<em>Cahiers de Civilization Medievale</em> XXI° Année no. 2 (April-June 1978).
page_number
fig. 18
citation
Verdier, Philippe "The Twelfth-Century Chasse of St. Ode from Amay," <em>Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch</em>, (1981).
page_number
p. 26, fig. 26
citation
Kaelble, Brigitte. <em>Untersuchungen zur grossfigurigen Plastik des Samsonmeisters.</em> Düsseldorf: Schwann, 1981.
citation
De Winter, Patrick M. "The Sacral Treasure of the Guelphs." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 1 (1985).
page_number
pp. 62-3, fig. 69
citation
Kroos, Renate. <em>Der Schrein des Heiligen Servatius in Maastricht und die vier zugehörigen Reliquiare in Brüssel. </em>München: Kommissionsverleger Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1985.
page_number
pp. 117, 130
citation
Brown University, and David Winton Bell Gallery (Brown University). <em>Survival of the Gods: Classical Mythology in Medieval Art</em> : an Exhibition by the Department of Art, Brown University, Bell Gallery, List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, February 28-March 29, 1987. Providence, R.I.: The Department, 1987.
page_number
no. 64
citation
Tekippe, Rita, and Christine Verzar. <em>Procession, Piety, and Politics: Three Medieval Rheno-Mosan Reliquary Shrines and the Cult Communities for Bishop-Saints Servatius of Maastricht, Eleutherius of Tournai, and Remaclus of Stavelot</em>. Dissertation Abstracts International. 60-05. 1999. .
citation
Eikelmann, Renate, Holger A. Klein, Stephen N. Fliegel, and Virginia Brilliant. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art: Meisterwerke von 300 bis 1550</em>. München: Hirmer, 2007.
page_number
p. 132-3, no. 44
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
p. 136-7, cat. no. 45
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Resplendent Faith: Liturgical Treasuries of the Middle Ages.</em> Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2009.
page_number
p. 70, fig. 59
citation
George, Philippe. <em>L'Oeuvre de la Meuse: Orfèvrerie mosane XIIe et XIIIe siècle.</em> [Namur : Institut du Patrimoine Wallonie: Trésor de Liège : Archéoforum, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned & reproduced: pp. 114-118, p;.15
citation
Chaganti, S. <em>Medieval Poetics of the Reliquary: Enshrinement, Inscription, Performance.</em> [Place of publication not identified]: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
citation
George, Philippe, and Nigel Morgan. Orfèvrerie septentrionale, XIIe et XIIIe siècle. Namur : Institut du Patrimoine Wallon, 2016.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 119
citation
George, Philippe. <em>Art et Patrimoine en Wallonie des Origines à 1789: Essai de Synthèse à la Lumière des Collections Américaines et Européennes. </em>Namur: Institut du Patrimoine Wallon, 2017. N6969 .W3 G46 2017
page_number
Reproduced; p. [130]
citation
Rácz, Bernát. <em>The Twelfth-Century Mosan Reliquary of Pétermonostora.</em> Bicester: Archaeopress Archaeology, 2025.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 77-79, fig. 73; p. 85-88, fig. 80
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:49:01.020000
sourceId
108743
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Romanesque
med
gilded copper, champlevé enamel; the reverse decorated in vernis brun
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a726e24015448a12