Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude
shortly after 1038
Maker Unknown
Medieval Art
Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, shortly after 1038. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold, cloisonné enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core; overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1931.462.a On the bottom of this altar is a trap door that opened to reveal small relics of saints wrapped in silk.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Formatted Medium
- gold, cloisonné enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core
- Dimensions
- Overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: translation of inscription: In order to live happily in Him, Gertrude presented to Christ this stone glistening with precious stones.
- Departments
- Medieval Art
- Accession Number
- 1931.462.a
- Credit Line
- Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
- Exhibitions
- Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe, CMA, October 17, 2010 - January 17, 2011, Walters Art Museum February 13 - May 15, 2011, British Museum June 23 - October 9, 2011: "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe," cat. no 42.<br>Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 106C Medieval Treasury
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