Reliquary Pendant with Hounds Coursing a Hare
This reliquary pendant, which can easily fit in the palm of your hand, features gabled lancet windows on the front, and a lively engraving of hounds giving chase to a hare on the back. Precious and portable, wearable jewelry like this served as treasured talismans for their original owners. The inscriptions around the sides of the object reveal that the two windows on the front once framed relics of Saint Barbara and Saint George. Barbara offered protection to those who faced sudden and violent danger, especially from explosives or lightning, and George was especially venerated among soldiers, so the hunting theme of the back is less incongruous than it might first appear. Personal reliquaries like this, worn directly on the body, served as powerful amulets for medieval Christians.
Artwork Details
- Title: Reliquary Pendant with Hounds Coursing a Hare
- Date: late 14th century
- Geography: Made in Lower Rhineland, Germany
- Culture: German
- Medium: Silver, gilded silver, and niello
- Dimensions: Overall: 2 1/4 x 1 x 1/4 in. (5.7 x 2.5 x 0.7 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Gift of Rainer M. Zietz, 1985
- Object Number: 1985.137
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
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German
ca. 1230–50
German
ca. 1230–50
North German
ca. 1200
German
13th century
North German
ca. 1200
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