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Crozier with the Annunciation
(Medieval Europe )
The volute (spiral head) of this crozier resembles a dragon. With a long curving neck covered with blue enamel scales, its grinning head bites at a leafy branch. Inside are the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel in a scene of the Annunciation. Gabriel's abbreviated greeting "Hail Mary, full of Grace" (Luke 1:28) appears in white enameled letters on each side of the volute. On one side the greeting is misspelled. In Christian symbolism, the dragon represented the Devil who misled mankind, while the Annunciation initiated Christ's birth and human redemption.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Charles Borradaile, Brighton, England, 1895, by purchase; Marcello Galli-Dunn, Castello di Badia, Poggibonsi, Tuscany, by purchase; Sale, Galleria Sangiorgi, Rome, May 1, 1905, no. 338, pl. 33; Henry Walters, Baltimore, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1897 | Burlington Club, London, 1897. Burlington Fine Arts Club, London. |
Geographies
France, Limoges (Place of Origin)
Measurements
11 5/16 x 5 7/8 x 2 13/16 in. (28.8 x 15 x 7.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.25