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Source Description
This cross is traditionally said to come from the Benedictine Abbey of Meherau on Lake Constance in today’s Austria. During the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey became wealthy through the acquisition of landed property. This beautiful cross would have likely embellished one of the abbey’s many altars where it symbolized Christ’s presence in the Mass.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
121223
label
Altar Cross
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
121223
contentType
object
title
Altar Cross
description
This cross is traditionally said to come from the Benedictine Abbey of Meherau on Lake Constance in today’s Austria. During the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey became wealthy through the acquisition of landed property. This beautiful cross would have likely embellished one of the abbey’s many altars where it symbolized Christ’s presence in the Mass.
date
c. 1300–1310
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757688
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
without base: 50.2 x 39.4 cm (19 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.)
cul
Germany or Austria, Upper Rhine, Constance, 14th century
accession
1942.1091
Source extras
tec
gilt copper, champlevé enamel, gemstones, on wood core
tombstone
Altar Cross, c. 1300–1310. Germany or Austria, Upper Rhine, Constance, 14th century. Gilt copper, champlevé enamel, gemstones, on wood core; without base: 50.2 x 39.4 cm (19 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1942.1091
collection
MED - Gothic
citations
citation
Milliken, William M. “Copper-Gilt Cross from Vienna.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 30, no. 10 (December 1943): 147–156.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 147-149; Reproduced: Cover, p. 153, 156
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. 152
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. 52
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. 53
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. 60
citation
Cohen, Meredith. "The Bestiary beyond the Book." In <em>Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World</em>. Elizabeth Morrison and Larisa Grollemond, eds. pp. 177 - 225. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019.
page_number
Reproduced and mentioned: p. 186, cat. 38
citation
Hamburger, Jeffrey F., and Rabanus Maurus. <em>Diagramming Devotion: Berthold of Nuremberg's Transformation of Hrabanus Maurus's Poems in Praise of the Cross.</em> Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2020.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 97; Reproduced: P. 99, fig. 63
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:14:43.794000
sourceId
121223
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Gothic
med
gilt copper, champlevé enamel, gemstones, on wood core
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
05f7bdb6afc82b68