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This exceptional pendant consists of a reliquary cross inside a hinged case with six small adjacent compartments for relics. The impressive amethyst cameo depicting the Virgin and Child on the lid is surrounded by cabochon rubies and emeralds alternating with pearls. The cross and the outer edge of the case are adorned with additional pearls, and the back of the case is decorated in a similar fashion, omitting the central cameo. A ground of dense filigree covers the front and back of the case, while the inside as well as the inscription and the Crucifixion scene on the cross are done in niello. The text identifies the donor, location, and the time when the piece was crafted, which is rare in Post-Byzantine jewelry: the cross was dedicated by the Metropolitan Arsenios of Serres, a town in northern Greece, to the monastery of St. John on the island of Chalke near Constantinople in the middle of the 16th century.
Page data
- Page
- 2
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- eda7640ec5f8845b
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 19177
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
"id": "19177",
"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.1511",
"contentType": "object",
"stage": "normalized",
"title": "Reliquary Pendant with Virgin and Child",
"description": "This exceptional pendant consists of a reliquary cross inside a hinged case with six small adjacent compartments for relics. The impressive amethyst cameo depicting the Virgin and Child on the lid is surrounded by cabochon rubies and emeralds alternating with pearls. The cross and the outer edge of the case are adorned with additional pearls, and the back of the case is decorated in a similar fashion, omitting the central cameo. A ground of dense filigree covers the front and back of the case, while the inside as well as the inscription and the Crucifixion scene on the cross are done in niello. The text identifies the donor, location, and the time when the piece was crafted, which is rare in Post-Byzantine jewelry: the cross was dedicated by the Metropolitan Arsenios of Serres, a town in northern Greece, to the monastery of St. John on the island of Chalke near Constantinople in the middle of the 16th century.",
"provenance": "Metropolitan Arsenios, Serres, Greece; Monastery of the Holy Trinity called Esopotron, Chalke [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
"date": "mid 16th century (Post-Byzantine)",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.1511",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
"genreSpecific": [
"Gold, Silver & Jewelry",
"reliquaries",
"pendants (jewelry)",
"crosses (objects)"
],
"iiifBase": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL1_57.1511B_Fnt_TR_T03.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL1_57.1511B_Fnt_TR_T03.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL1_57.1511B_Fnt_TR_T03.jpg",
"imageCount": 5,
"pageCount": 5,
"source": "import",
"dimensions": [
{
"units": "cm",
"width": 6.5,
"height": 6.2,
"depth": 1
}
],
"dimensionsRaw": "Lid H: 2 9/16 x W: 2 7/16 x D: 3/8 in. (6.51 x 6.19 x 0.95 cm); Back H with lope: 3 3/8 x W: 2 13/16 x D: 5/8 in. (8.57 x 7.14 x 1.59 cm); Back H without lope: 3 1/16 in. (7.78 cm); Cross H with lope: 2 1/16 x W: 1 1/4 x D: 1/4 in. (5.24 x 3.18 x 0.64 cm)"
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "19177",
"label": "Reliquary Pendant with Virgin and Child",
"core": "obj",
"dtoType": "object",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.1511"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "19177",
"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.1511",
"contentType": "object",
"stage": "normalized",
"title": "Reliquary Pendant with Virgin and Child",
"description": "This exceptional pendant consists of a reliquary cross inside a hinged case with six small adjacent compartments for relics. The impressive amethyst cameo depicting the Virgin and Child on the lid is surrounded by cabochon rubies and emeralds alternating with pearls. The cross and the outer edge of the case are adorned with additional pearls, and the back of the case is decorated in a similar fashion, omitting the central cameo. A ground of dense filigree covers the front and back of the case, while the inside as well as the inscription and the Crucifixion scene on the cross are done in niello. The text identifies the donor, location, and the time when the piece was crafted, which is rare in Post-Byzantine jewelry: the cross was dedicated by the Metropolitan Arsenios of Serres, a town in northern Greece, to the monastery of St. John on the island of Chalke near Constantinople in the middle of the 16th century.",
"provenance": "Metropolitan Arsenios, Serres, Greece; Monastery of the Holy Trinity called Esopotron, Chalke [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
"date": "mid 16th century (Post-Byzantine)",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.1511",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
"genreSpecific": [
"Gold, Silver & Jewelry",
"reliquaries",
"pendants (jewelry)",
"crosses (objects)"
],
"iiifBase": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL1_57.1511B_Fnt_TR_T03.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL1_57.1511B_Fnt_TR_T03.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL1_57.1511B_Fnt_TR_T03.jpg",
"imageCount": 5,
"pageCount": 5,
"source": "import",
"dimensions": [
{
"units": "cm",
"width": 6.5,
"height": 6.2,
"depth": 1
}
],
"dimensionsRaw": "Lid H: 2 9/16 x W: 2 7/16 x D: 3/8 in. (6.51 x 6.19 x 0.95 cm); Back H with lope: 3 3/8 x W: 2 13/16 x D: 5/8 in. (8.57 x 7.14 x 1.59 cm); Back H without lope: 3 1/16 in. (7.78 cm); Cross H with lope: 2 1/16 x W: 1 1/4 x D: 1/4 in. (5.24 x 3.18 x 0.64 cm)"
}
Document source extras
{
"cul": "Orthodox",
"inscriptions": [
"[Translation] 57.1511A",
"on amethyst: Mother of God / Jesus Christ; [Transcription] 57.1511B",
"on outer rim of inside face: + Ἀρσενίου τοῦ πανιερωτάτου μητροπολίτου Σερρῶν καὶ ὑπερτίμου καὶ τόπον ἐπέχο(ν)τος Καισαρίας Καπαδοκίας Κύρηος βουθός 57.1511C [on the face of the cross]: Ἐξηγόρασας ἡμᾶς τῶ τιμίω σου ἔματι",
"τῶ στ(αυ)ρῶ προσηλωθείς [Ἐξηγόρασας ἡμᾶς τῶ τιμίω σου αἵματι",
"τῶ σταυρῶ προσηλωθείς] [around the sides of the cross]: + Ἀφιερόθ(η) παρὰ τοῦ ἱεροτά(του) μητροπολείτου Σερν κὶρ Ἀρσενίου ἐν τεῖ μονεῖ τῆς Ἁγίας (Τριά)δος τῆς ὀνομαζομένης Ἐσοπτροῦ ἐν Χάλκι τῆ νήσο [+ Ἀφιερώθη παρὰ τοῦ ἱεροτάτου μητροπολίτου Σερρῶν κὺρ Ἀρσενίου ἐν τῆ μονῆ τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος τῆς ὀνομαζομένης Ἐσόπτρου ἐν Χάλκη τῆ νήσω]; [Translation] + Lord",
"help Arsenius",
"most holy and venerable metropolitan of Serres and \"\"locum tenens\"\" of Caesaria in Cappadocia; [Translation] 57.1511C",
"on cross",
"top: Jesus Christ / The king of the Jews; [Translation] 57.1511C",
"on face of the cross: Thou hast redeemed us by Thy precious blood",
"nailed to the cross…; [Translation] 57.1511C",
"around sides of the cross (a later inscription): Presented by the most holy metropolitan of Serres",
"Arsenius",
"to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity called Esoptron on the island of Chalke"
],
"dynasty": "Ottoman Dynasty",
"RelatedObjects": [
"3982",
"19101",
"33700"
],
"med": "gold, amethyst, emeralds, rubies, pearls, semiprecious stones, niello",
"creator_ids": [
"6256"
],
"collection_ids": [
"BYZ",
"JWL"
],
"exhibition_ids": [
"718",
"358",
"1954",
"449",
"2054",
"2115",
"170",
"63",
"2513",
"2704"
]
}
Page context
{
"seq": 2,
"pageIndex": 0,
"type": "photo",
"url": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/raw/PL1_57.1511A_Fnt_TR_T03II.jpg",
"mediaId": "eda7640ec5f8845b"
}