Reliquary for a Finger Bone

Flemish (?) (Artist)

French (?) (Artist)

15th century (Late Medieval)

silver, gilded copper, glass, textile, human bone
(Medieval Europe , Renaissance Europe )

Three angels elevate the hollow glass cylinder of this reliquary, a type of dramatic "display" reliquary that became popular in the late Middle Ages. Inside is the relic of an unknown saint, a small fragment of a bone, possibly from a finger, wrapped in a piece of cloth.

Provenance

**Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.**

Michel Boy, Paris, by purchase; Sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, May 15, 1905, no. 661; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1905, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Exhibitions

1984-1985

Reliquaries and Ritual: Medieval Objects of Devotion. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

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Geographies

Belgium, Flanders (Place of Origin) France (Place of Origin)

Measurements

8 7/8 x 3 5/16 x 3 5/16 in. (22.5 x 8.4 x 8.4 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters, 1905

Location in Museum

Centre Street: Third Floor: Romanesque and Gothic Art

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

57.690

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