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Portable Altar

ca. 1000
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Portable altars provided a consecrated table for celebrating the Eucharist beyond the walls of the church. The engraved scenes decorating this example include the Last Supper on its front and the Washing of Christ’s Feet on the back, both scenes featuring an orderly lineup of the Twelve Apostles that underscores the altar’s horizontality. On the two ends are the Meal at Emmaus and what is likely the Conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portable Altar
  • Date: ca. 1000
  • Culture: German (Hildesheim)
  • Medium: Silver, with niello and gilding, porphyry and unknown stone; wood core
  • Dimensions: Overall: 4 1/8 x 10 1/4 x 5 7/8 in. (10.5 x 26 x 15 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Dom-Museum Hildesheim (DS 26)
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters