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| View Original: | Mosan Workshop - Reliquary Cross - Walters 4498.jpg (1247x1800) | |||
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| Keywords: Mosan Workshop - Reliquary Cross - Walters 4498.jpg The imagery on this cross is intended to help the viewer understand the cosmological and moral significance of the Crucifixion and a naturalistic portrayal of the story was not considered a priority A compositional feature common to many Mosan enamel works called Mosan because they were made in the region around the Meuse River is the use of figures arranged in groups of four such as the four Evangelists or the personifications of the four cardinal virtues Wisdom or Prudence Justice Fortitude and Temperance This cross features a rare if not unique group of four virtues Hope is shown at the top of the cross with a chalice and communion wafer; Faith is on the right cross arm with a baptismal font; Obedience is at the base holding a cross through which the relics would have been visible; and Innocence is on the left arm holding the sacrificial lamb associated with Christ As made clear by the inscriptions this grouping combines two of the three theological virtues Faith and Hope with the unexpected virtues of Obedience and Innocence an indication perhaps that this was intended for a monastic context in which the monks might benefit from a constant reminder of their vows which included chastity and obedience to their abbot The cross itself is green a reference to the tree of life against a background of colorful stars It thus presents the Crucifixion as both a cosmological metaphor for the universe as it was understood by many of the early Greek Fathers of the Church and also as a moral instrument demonstrating the virtues of Christ an interpretation favored by the early Latin Fathers These two ways of understanding the cross here represented visually were intermingled in the writings of many medieval theologians ca 1150 75 Medieval champlevé and cloisonné enamel on copper with gilding cm 28 89 18 5 0 4 accession number 44 98 21139 Charles Stein Paris 1899 by purchase Sir T D Gibson-Carmichael London 1902 by purchase Basilewsky date and mode of acquisition unknown Arnold Seligmann Paris date of acquisition unknown by purchase Henry Walters Baltimore date of acquisition unknown by purchase Walters Art Museum Henry Walters Acquired by Henry Walters Transcription Clockwise from top SPES/INOCEN/TIA/ FIDES/OBEDI/ENTIA; Translation Hope/Innocence/Faith/Obedience Arts of the Middle Ages Museum of Fine Arts Boston Boston 1940 Masterpieces of Art Century 21 Exposition Seattle World's Fair Seattle World's Fair Seattle 1962 Reliquaries and Ritual Medieval Objects of Devotion The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore 1984-1985 Highlights from the Collection The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore 1998-2001 Treasures of Heaven The Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland; The Walters Art Museum Baltimore; The British Museum London 2010-2011 place of origin Belgium Walters Art Museum license Medieval metalwork in the Walters Art Museum Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Metalwork by Mosan workshops Rhine-Meuse champlevé | ||||
