Reliquary Diptych

late 14th century

Not on view

In his Craftsman's Handbook (about 1390), the Florentine artist Cennino Cennini outlines the "individual attractive, fine and unusual" process of gilding glass "for the embellishment of holy reliquaries." Here, small relics with identifying inscriptions are enclosed behind the decorated glass panels. The technique was often adopted for works made for Franciscans. This was surely the case here, since the reliquary features Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata and Saint Louis of Toulouse, as well as scenes of the Virgin and Christ child, Crucifixion, Saint Elizabeth (?), Saint Agnes, and Saint John the Baptist.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Reliquary Diptych
Date: late 14th century
Culture: Central Italian
Medium: Verre églomisé, polychromy, wood, metal, and possible human remains
Dimensions: Overall (open): 8 3/8 x 12 1/2 x 9/16 in. (21.3 x 31.7 x 1.4 cm)
Overall (closed): 8 3/8 x 6 1/8 x 1 1/8 in. (21.3 x 15.6 x 2.9 cm)
each image (approx.): 2 13/16 x 1 5/8 in. (7.2 x 4.2 cm)
Classification: Glass-Verre églomisé
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.190.922
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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