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Source Description
This precious gold cross was commissioned by Countess Gertrude (died 1077) and given to the church of Saint Blaise following the death of her husband, Count Liudolf of Brunswick (died 1038). The cross was intended to be carried in liturgical processions or to be placed on a church altar. The inclusion of relics within the crosses endowed them with an additional role as devotional objects. At the center of the four cross arms, fine but much damaged cloisonné enamel plaques represent the symbols of the four Evangelists--an eagle for Saint John (above); a lion for Saint Mark (on the left); an ox for Saint Luke (on the right); and an angel for Saint Matthew (below). Pearls and precious and semiprecious stones are set within an intricate network of gold filigree while a large sapphire, inscribed in a circle and likewise surrounded by pearls and precious stones, is placed at the crossing.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
112958
label
Ceremonial Cross of Countess Gertrude
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
112958
contentType
object
title
Ceremonial Cross of Countess Gertrude
description
This precious gold cross was commissioned by Countess Gertrude (died 1077) and given to the church of Saint Blaise following the death of her husband, Count Liudolf of Brunswick (died 1038). The cross was intended to be carried in liturgical processions or to be placed on a church altar. The inclusion of relics within the crosses endowed them with an additional role as devotional objects. At the center of the four cross arms, fine but much damaged cloisonné enamel plaques represent the symbols of the four Evangelists--an eagle for Saint John (above); a lion for Saint Mark (on the left); an ox for Saint Luke (on the right); and an angel for Saint Matthew (below). Pearls and precious and semiprecious stones are set within an intricate network of gold filigree while a large sapphire, inscribed in a circle and likewise surrounded by pearls and precious stones, is placed at the crossing.
date
1038 or shortly after
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757266
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
cul
Germany, Lower Saxony?, 11th century
accession
1931.55
Source extras
tec
gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel, intaglio gems, pearls, wood core
tombstone
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
collection
MED - Romanesque
inscriptions
inscription
translation of inscription on back: For the Relics of the Holy Apostle Peter and the Holy Virgin Liutrudis, Countess Gertrude Ordered this made.
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
112022
description
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
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
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
formerAccessionNumbers
232.1931
didYouKnow
Countess Gertrude's name appears on the back of the cross at the bottom.
citations
citation
Milliken, William M. "The Gertrudis Altar and Two Crosses." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 18, no. 2 (1931).
page_number
pp. 23-6, 34
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Catalogue of the Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition of the Cleveland Museum of Art: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition: June Twenty-Sixth to October Fourth 1936</em>. [Cleveland, Ohio]: [Cleveland Museum of Art], 1936.
page_number
Cat. No. 2; Mentioned: p. 13
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
Reproduced: p. 102; Mentioned: p. 105
citation
Milliken, William. "Exhibition of Gold." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>34, no. 9 (November 1947): 211-212.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 211-212; Reproduced: p. 226
citation
Milliken, William. "New Accessions of Champlevé Enamel." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>36, no. 9 (November 1949): 167-170.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 168
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. 94
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. 45
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. 45
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. 50
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. 30, 33, 35-36, 40-41, 43-44, 45, 47, 117, 134-135, 136, 139 no3, no; color plates II, IIIB
citation
Corbet, Patrick. “L'autel portatif de la comtesse Gertrude de Braunschweig (vers 1040): Tradition royale de Bourgogne et conscience aristocratique dans l'Empire des Saliens.” <em>Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale</em>, 34e année (n°134), (1991):
page_number
pp 101-04, fig. 6-7 (pl. 3)
citation
Luckhardt, Jochen, and Franz Niehoff. <em>Heinrich der Löwe und seine Zeit: Herrschaft und Repräsentation der Welfen 1125-1235 :</em> Katalog der Ausstellung, Braunschweig 1995. München: Hirmer, 1995.
page_number
no. 120, p. 226; no. 387, p. 514; no. 388, p. 515
citation
Boockmann, Andrea. <em>Die verlorenen Teile des 'Welfenschätzes': eine Übersicht anhand des Reliquienverzeichnisses von 1482 der Stiftskirche St. Blasius in Braunschweig</em>. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997.
page_number
pp. 30, 35, 54, 56, 59, 68, 75, 152, 157
citation
Ehlers, Joachim, and Dietrich Kötzsche. <em>Der Welfenschatz und sein Umkreis.</em> Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1998.
page_number
abb. 2, p. 53; abb. 3, p. 54; abb. 7, p. 295
citation
May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. <em>Knockouts: A Pocket Guide</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
page_number
pp. 54, 116, no. 19
citation
Peter, Michael. <em>Der Gertrudistragaltar aus dem Welfenschatz: eine stilgeschichtliche Untersuchung.</em> Mainz: Von Zabern, 2001.
page_number
p. 185, 207, 210
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. 116
citation
García de Castro Valdés, César. <em>Signvm salvtis: cruces de orfebrería de los siglos V al XII. </em>Oviedo: KRK Ediciones, 2008.
page_number
pp. 230- 232, fig. 40
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Resplendent Faith: Liturgical Treasuries of the Middle Ages. </em>Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2009.
page_number
p. 40, fig. 35
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann. <em>Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page_number
pp. 88-9
citation
Hahn, Cynthia J. <em>Strange Beauty: Issues in the Making and Meaning of Reliquaries, 400-Circa 1204</em>. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012.
page_number
p. 97, fig. 44
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 264
citation
Lomartire, Saverio. "Tabula ornata lapidibus diversorum colorum": la legatura preziosa del Codice C nel Museo del Tesoro del Duomo di Vercelli. Roma: Viella, 2015.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 141, fig. 31
citation
Thümmel, Hans Georg. Ikonologie der christlichen Kunst. 2019.
page_number
Mentioned; p. 164
citation
Mikolic, Amanda. <em>Worshiping in Place through Art: The Hidden Gems of the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude. </em>Cleveland Museum of Art The Thinker Blog on Medium. July 16, 2020.
citation
Staff. "Lutz Opens a Virtual Office.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>60, no. 3 (Summer 2020): 11.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 10.
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with the addition of a gift from Mrs. Edward B. Greene
sketchfabId
a60d64e3ec4f4bf7ba289d92dff1b9a9
updatedAt
2026-06-18 21:16:18.411000
sourceId
112958
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Romanesque
med
gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel, intaglio gems, pearls, wood core
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f199b3ae26982a04