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Source Description
The volute (spiral head) of this crozier resembles a dragon. With a long curving neck covered with blue enamel scales, its grinning head bites at a leafy branch. Inside are the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel in a scene of the Annunciation. Gabriel's abbreviated greeting "Hail Mary, full of Grace" (Luke 1:28) appears in white enameled letters on each side of the volute. On one side the greeting is misspelled. In Christian symbolism, the dragon represented the Devil who misled mankind, while the Annunciation initiated Christ's birth and human redemption.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
3775
label
Crozier with the Annunciation
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
3775
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Crozier with the Annunciation
description
The volute (spiral head) of this crozier resembles a dragon. With a long curving neck covered with blue enamel scales, its grinning head bites at a leafy branch. Inside are the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel in a scene of the Annunciation. Gabriel's abbreviated greeting "Hail Mary, full of Grace" (Luke 1:28) appears in white enameled letters on each side of the volute. On one side the greeting is misspelled. In Christian symbolism, the dragon represented the Devil who misled mankind, while the Annunciation initiated Christ's birth and human redemption.
provenance
Charles Borradaile, Brighton, England, 1895, by purchase; Marcello Galli-Dunn, Castello di Badia, Poggibonsi, Tuscany, by purchase; Sale, Galleria Sangiorgi, Rome, May 1, 1905, no. 338, pl. 33; Henry Walters, Baltimore, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
early 13th Century (Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Enamels
crosiers (episcopal)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
28.8
height
15
depth
7.1
dimensionsRaw
11 5/16 x 5 7/8 x 2 13/16 in. (28.8 x 15 x 7.1 cm)
Source extras
cul
French
style
Gothic
inscriptions
On obverse side of crozier volute in enamel text: AVE MARIA GRA PLE; [Transcription] AVE MARIA GRA[TIA] PLE[NA]; [Translation] Hail Mary
full of grace.On reverse side of crozier volute in enamel text: AVE MARIA GRA PIEM;[Transcription] AVE MARIA GRA[TIA] PIEM; [Translation] Hail Mary
full of grace. The word PLENA (full) is misspelled as PIEM in this inscription.
med
champlevé enamel, gilded copper, semiprecious stones
creator_ids
6229
collection_ids
MED
exhibition_ids
437
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b2e1880497df084f