Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Reliquary Pendant with Virgin and Child
(Byzantium and Early Russia, Jewelry)
This exceptional pendant consists of a reliquary cross inside a hinged case with six small adjacent compartments for relics (see also Walters 57.1511A and 57.1511C). The impressive amethyst cameo depicting the Virgin and Child on the lid is surrounded by cabochon rubies and emeralds alternating with pearls. The cross and the outer edge of the case are adorned with additional pearls, and the back of the case is decorated in a similar fashion, omitting the central cameo. A ground of dense filigree covers the front and back of the case, while the inside as well as the inscription and the Crucifixion scene on the cross are done in niello. The text identifies the donor, location, and the time when the piece was crafted, which is rare in Post-Byzantine jewelry: the cross was dedicated by the Metropolitan Arsenios of Serres, a town in northern Greece, to the monastery of St. John on the island of Chalke near Constantinople in the middle of the 16th century.
Inscription
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.
Metropolitan Arsenios, Serres, Greece; Monastery of the Holy Trinity called Esopotron, Chalke [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2006-2009 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2004 | Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
| 1984 | The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979-1980 | Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1964 | New York World's Fair 1964: Protestant and Orthodox Pavilion. Protestant and Orthodox Pavilion, New York World's Fair, New York. |
| 1947-1948 | Exhibition of Gold. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Greece, Serres
(Place of Origin)
Turkey, Istanbul (Chalke) (Place Mentioned)
Measurements
H: 3 1/8 x W: 2 13/16 in. (7.94 x 7.14 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Byzantine, Russian, and Ethiopian Icons
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.
57.1511B
