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Source Description
Designed to facilitate the display and veneration of ten relics, this sumptuous ostensorium (from the Latin ostendere, meaning "to show") is one of the most unusual reliquaries in the Guelph Treasure. Elements of contemporary Gothic architecture in miniature frame an elaborately decorated liturgical paten, the shallow disc or plate used for the elevation of the Eucharist during Mass. Fragments of the True Cross are enclosed behind a rock crystal in the gable, while other saintly relics, each wrapped in silk and identified by inscriptions, are visible only from the back. The paten is inscribed on its outer rim with the words "The bread which is broken in me is the body itself. He who receives it in good faith shall live in eternity." Another inscription surrounding the image of the enthroned Christ at the paten's center, reads, "Behold, o men, I have thus redeemed you with my death." Symbols of the four Evangelists and personifications of the four cardinal virtues complete the paten's iconographic program.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
112022
label
Monstrance with the "Paten of Saint Bernward"
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
112022
contentType
object
title
Monstrance with the "Paten of Saint Bernward"
description
Designed to facilitate the display and veneration of ten relics, this sumptuous ostensorium (from the Latin ostendere, meaning "to show") is one of the most unusual reliquaries in the Guelph Treasure. Elements of contemporary Gothic architecture in miniature frame an elaborately decorated liturgical paten, the shallow disc or plate used for the elevation of the Eucharist during Mass. Fragments of the True Cross are enclosed behind a rock crystal in the gable, while other saintly relics, each wrapped in silk and identified by inscriptions, are visible only from the back. The paten is inscribed on its outer rim with the words "The bread which is broken in me is the body itself. He who receives it in good faith shall live in eternity." Another inscription surrounding the image of the enthroned Christ at the paten's center, reads, "Behold, o men, I have thus redeemed you with my death." Symbols of the four Evangelists and personifications of the four cardinal virtues complete the paten's iconographic program.
date
c. 1180–1190
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60762640
creators
9678
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 34.5 x 15.9 x 14 cm (13 9/16 x 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.); Part 1: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.); Part 2: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.)
cul
paten: Germany, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim; monstrance: Germany, Lower Saxony, Brunswick, Gothic period, paten: 12th century; monstrance: 14th century
accession
1930.505
Source extras
tec
silver, gilded silver, niello, rock crystal
tombstone
Monstrance with the "Paten of Saint Bernward", c. 1180–1190. Saint Oswald Reliquary Workshop (German). Silver, gilded silver, niello, rock crystal; overall: 34.5 x 15.9 x 14 cm (13 9/16 x 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.); part 1: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.); part 2: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with additional gift from Mrs. R. Henry Norweb, 1930.505
collection
MED - Gothic
inscriptions
inscription
located in monstrance: two slivers of the True Cross surrounded by parchment with the inscription: DE SIGILLO DOMINI. Paten inscribed: +EST.CORPVS.IN.SE.PANIS.QVI.FRANGITVR.IN.ME:VIVET.IN ETERNVM. QVI.BENE.SVMIT.EVM. (outer rim); +HVC.SPECTATE. VIRI.SIC.VOS MORIENDO.REDEMI.
relatedWorks
id
112021
description
Medallion with the Bust of Christ ("The Cumberland Medallion"), from the Guelph Treasure, late 700s. Germany, Weserraum, Migration period, late 8th century. Cloisonné enamel and gold on copper; diameter: 5.1 x 0.2 cm (2 x 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1930.504
id
112316
description
Arm Reliquary of the Apostles, c. 1190. Germany, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim, Romanesque period, late 12th century. Gilt silver, champlevé enamel, oak; overall: 51 x 14 x 9.2 cm (20 1/16 x 5 1/2 x 3 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1930.739
id
112318
description
The So-called Horn of Saint Blaise, 1100–1200. South Italy or Sicily, 12th century. Ivory; overall: 12 cm (4 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1930.740
id
112319
description
Book-Shaped Reliquary, c. 1000. Circle of The Master of the Registrum Gregorii (German, active c. 972–1000). Ivory, silver: gilded, pearls, rubies, emeralds, crystals, onyx, carnelian, oak; overall: 31.6 x 24.4 x 7.5 cm (12 7/16 x 9 5/8 x 2 15/16 in.); part 1: 17.8 x 14 cm (7 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1930.741
id
112958
description
Ceremonial Cross of Countess Gertrude, 1038 or shortly after. Germany, Lower Saxony?, 11th century. Gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel, intaglio gems, pearls, wood core; overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with the addition of a gift from Mrs. Edward B. Greene 1931.55
id
112971
description
Monstrance with a Relic of Saint Sebastian, 1484. Germany, Lower Saxony, Brunswick, Gothic period, 15th century. Gilded silver, rock crystal, bone, parchment; overall: 47 cm (18 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Julius F. Goldschmidt, Z. M. Hackenbroch, and J. Rosenbaum in memory of the Exhibition of the Guelph Treasure held in the Cleveland Museum of Art from 10 January to 1 February 1931, 1931.65
id
112875
description
Ceremonial Cross of Count Liudolf, shortly after 1038. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel; intaglio gems; pearls; wood core; overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1931.461
id
112876
description
Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, c. 1045. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold, cloisonné enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core; overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1931.462
citations
citation
W. M. M. “The Acquisition of Six Objects from the Guelph Treasure for the Cleveland Museum of Art: Foreword.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 17, no. 9 (November 1930): 163–165.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 163-165
citation
W. M. M. “The Acquisition of Six Objects from the Guelph Treasure for the Cleveland Museum of Art.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 17, no. 9 (November 1930): 165–178, 183.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 167-168; Reproduced: Cover
citation
Milliken, William. "A Niello Book Cover of the Fifteenth Century." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>39, no. 6 (June 1952): 119-121.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 120
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. 100
citation
Wixom, William. "The Helmarshausen Latin Gospels." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>46, no. 4 (April, 1959): 58-59.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 59
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
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. 54
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
Mentioned: p. 85-86; Reproduced: p. 89, plate xiii, Cover
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. 124-125, no. 39
citation
Bagnoli, Martina. <em>Treasures of heaven: saints, relics, and devotion in medieval Europe</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2010.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 51, p. 143
citation
Inglis, Erik. "Remembering and Forgetting Suger at Saint-Denis, 1151-1534: An Abbot's Reputation". Gesta 54, no. 2 (Fall 2015).
page_number
Mentioned: p. 219-243; Reproduced: p. 240, fig. 9
citation
Beuckers, Klaus Gereon. "Istam Patenuam Fecit Sanctus Berwardus. Zum Ostensorium mit der Bernwardpatene aus dem Welfenschatz im Cleveland Museum of Art." In <em>Typen mittelalterlicher Reliquiare zwischen Innovation und Tradition: Beiträge einer Tagung des Kunsthistorischen Instituts der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel am 22. Oktober 2016. </em>Klaus Gereon Beuckers, and Dorothee Kemper, 211-221. Regensburg: Schnell + Steiner; Hildesheim: Bernward.Medien, 2017.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 212, Abb. 67, 68
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with additional gift from Mrs. R. Henry Norweb
sketchfabId
68c6c5b642a5488bb12794a6dff3ca9d
updatedAt
2026-06-18 21:16:24.867000
sourceId
112022
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Gothic
med
silver, gilded silver, niello, rock crystal
creatorTags
gender unknown
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a7ca57341ab18be6