Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Rosary of Floris van Egmond and Margaretha van Glymes
Not on view
This rosary is every bit as sophisticated as the rosary of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, also in the exhibition. The individual beads link New Testament stories, images of the apostles, and lines from the Apostles’ Creed with stories, prophets, and texts from Hebrew Scripture. Each bead is marked on the bottom with a letter of the alphabet, which ensures their proper sequence. The inscriptions are carved with particular skill, and the texts weave in and out of the multiple facets of each bead.
The original owners can be identified by a motto—sans faulte (without fault)—and a coat of arms, both carved on the ring at the top. They refer to a Dutch noble couple: Count Floris van Egmond (died 1539), chamberlain to Philip the Handsome, and his wife Margaretha van Glymes (died 1551). Because the motto and arms are only on the ring, it is not clear whether they ordered the rosary or simply asked the carver to personalize the ring at the point of sale.
Large bead, upper: Last Judgment with Saint Matthew and Job
Large bead, lower: Cleansing of Naaman and Judas Thaddeus
Bead B: Members of the Church; Good Samaritan(?)
Bead C: Baptism of Jesus; Pentecost
Bead D: Last Judgment; Judgment of Solomon
Bead E: Ascension; Transfiguration; Murder of Amos
Bead F: Death and Elijah Raising the Widow’s Son; Resurrection
Bead G: Descent and Harrowing of Hell; Death of Zachariah
Bead H: Crucifixion; Entombment; David before the Ark
Bead I: Annunciation; Nativity; Death of Isaiah
Bead K: God in Majesty; Christ Child in Glory; Habakkuk Feeding Daniel in the Den of Lions;
Bead L: Creation of the Heavens; Christ Child in the Sun; Moses Receiving the Tablets (Ten Commandments)
Cross: Crucified Jesus; Saint Anne with her Daughter Mary and the Infant Jesus
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