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Small glass plaques like this were often combined with plaques of painted wood and framed within elaborate architectural reliquaries or small altarpieces. The decorative technique, called verre églomisé, is a process in which the reverse side of a glass is gilded and then engraved with designs. The pelican, shown above the cross piercing its breast to feed its young, became a common symbol of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
870d91dbf4b45e81
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
149384
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "149384",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Plaque: The Crucifixion with Angels and Saints",
    "description": "Small glass plaques like this were often combined with plaques of painted wood and framed within elaborate architectural reliquaries or small altarpieces. The decorative technique, called verre églomisé, is a process in which the reverse side of a glass is gilded and then engraved with designs. The pelican, shown above the cross piercing its breast to feed its young, became a common symbol of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.",
    "date": "c. 1400–1425",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1978.41",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60755813"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Glass"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 19.4 x 9.4 x 0.4 cm (7 5/8 x 3 11/16 x 3/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Northern Italy, Padua?, 15th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1978.41"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "149384",
    "label": "Plaque: The Crucifixion with Angels and Saints",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "149384",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Plaque: The Crucifixion with Angels and Saints",
    "description": "Small glass plaques like this were often combined with plaques of painted wood and framed within elaborate architectural reliquaries or small altarpieces. The decorative technique, called verre églomisé, is a process in which the reverse side of a glass is gilded and then engraved with designs. The pelican, shown above the cross piercing its breast to feed its young, became a common symbol of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.",
    "date": "c. 1400–1425",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1978.41",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60755813"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Glass"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 19.4 x 9.4 x 0.4 cm (7 5/8 x 3 11/16 x 3/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Northern Italy, Padua?, 15th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1978.41"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "verre églomisé (reverse gilded glass, engraved and painted)",
    "tombstone": "Plaque: The Crucifixion with Angels and Saints, c. 1400–1425. Northern Italy, Padua?, 15th century. Verre églomisé (reverse gilded glass, engraved and painted); overall: 19.4 x 9.4 x 0.4 cm (7 5/8 x 3 11/16 x 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1978.41",
    "collection": "MED - Gothic",
    "inscriptions": [
        {
            "inscription": "the letters on the banderoles may be described as a composite script called Gothic majuscule, which intermingles Roman capitals and uncial alphabets.  This script was especially favored by Italian artists for inscriptions in architecture, sculpture, panel painting, and manuscript illustrations during the 14th and 15th centuries.  The banderole on the left reads: \"POSVIT. ME. DESOLAT.[UM]\" (God has forsaken me); the other banderole reads: \"CRUS. DOMINI. MECUM\" (the cross of the Lord is with me).  A third inscription with the abbreviations for the words of Pilate--\"I. N. R. I.\" (IESUS, NASARENUS RES IUDAEORUM), or Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews\" appears on the plaque (tabula ansata) at the top of the cross."
        }
    ],
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Six Works from Von Hirsch Collection,” August 1, 1978, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/cmapr2569"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1978.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 66, no. 1 (January 1979): 3–48.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 12; Mentioned: p. 42, no. 19",
            "url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/25159613"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Wixom, William D. “Eleven Additions to the Medieval Collection.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 66, no. 3 (Mar/Apr 1979): 87–151.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 139-143, fig. 100",
            "url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/25159622"
        },
        {
            "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": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 202, cat. 52"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1978.41",
    "creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 07:41:27.128000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.41/1978.41_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 149384,
    "dept": "Medieval Art",
    "coll": "MED - Gothic",
    "med": "verre églomisé (reverse gilded glass, engraved and painted)",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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