Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
A chasse is a container with a pyramid-shaped roof that once served as a shrine for sacred relics. During the medieval period, chasses like this one were placed on church altars during high feast days to allow the faithful to venerate their sacred contents. The chasse’s design and imagery follow a common formula with Christ’s Crucifixion and Majesty decorating the central fields of its principal face. The back consists of two panels with identical decoration. Each features three busts of angels inscribed in medallions. Of the chasse’s lateral sides, only one is preserved in its original state, decorated with the figure of an imposing angel emerging from a bank of clouds. Here, the dark blue enamel background shows an even greater variety of rosettes and other decorative motifs, all engraved, stippled, and gilded like the ones on the other sides
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
119461
label
Chasse
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
119461
contentType
object
title
Chasse
description
A chasse is a container with a pyramid-shaped roof that once served as a shrine for sacred relics. During the medieval period, chasses like this one were placed on church altars during high feast days to allow the faithful to venerate their sacred contents. The chasse’s design and imagery follow a common formula with Christ’s Crucifixion and Majesty decorating the central fields of its principal face. The back consists of two panels with identical decoration. Each features three busts of angels inscribed in medallions. Of the chasse’s lateral sides, only one is preserved in its original state, decorated with the figure of an imposing angel emerging from a bank of clouds. Here, the dark blue enamel background shows an even greater variety of rosettes and other decorative motifs, all engraved, stippled, and gilded like the ones on the other sides
date
c. 1225–50
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60780075
genreSpecific
Enamel
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 24.7 x 24.2 x 10.4 cm (9 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 4 1/8 in.)
cul
France, Limousin, Limoges, Gothic period, 13th century
accession
1940.347
Source extras
tec
copper: repoussé, engraved, stippled, and gilded; champlevé enamel; oak core
tombstone
Chasse, c. 1225–50. France, Limousin, Limoges, Gothic period, 13th century. Copper: repoussé, engraved, stippled, and gilded; champlevé enamel; oak core; overall: 24.7 x 24.2 x 10.4 cm (9 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 4 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of S. Livingstone Mather, Constance Mather Bishop, Philip R. Mather, Katherine Hoyt Cross, and Katherine Mather McLean in accordance with the wishes of Samuel Mather, 1940.347
collection
MED - Gothic
citations
citation
Milliken, William M. “Objects from the Samuel Mather Collection.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 28, no. 3 (1941).
page_number
34, 36
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. 114
citation
Winter, Edward. <em>Enamel Art on Metals. </em>New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1958.
page_number
p. 194
citation
Ball, Victoria Kloss. <em>Architecture and Interior Design.</em> New York: Wiley, 1980.
page_number
p. 214, fig. 5.69.
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. 160-161, no. 55
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. 156-157, no. 59
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Resplendent Faith: Liturgical Treasuries of the Middle Ages.</em> Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2009.
page_number
p. 21, fig. 15
citation
Tomei, Alessandro. Bronzo & oro. Milano : Skira, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 108-109, fig. 4.
creditline
Gift of S. Livingstone Mather, Constance Mather Bishop, Philip R. Mather, Katherine Hoyt Cross, and Katherine Mather McLean in accordance with the wishes of Samuel Mather
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:10:05.493000
sourceId
119461
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Gothic
med
copper: repoussé, engraved, stippled, and gilded; champlevé enamel; oak core
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
be428e9dc883d6ef