Reliquary Shrine

Description In form, this object approximates an early 13th-century French reliquary shrine. The original shrines were made of gilded bronze and champlevé enamel. This 19th-century adaptation, however, is executed in plique-à-jour, or openwork, enamel with scenes of St. George and donors in the English late Gothic style. The sphinx-shaped feet are exotic, non-medieval additions. This shrine was originally shown in the "Gothic Room" that was installed in The Walters Art Museum in 1909. The room, created by the New York firm of L. Marcotte and Company, contained modern works that were intended to evoke the Gothic era rather than to deceive the visitor.

Exhibitions

• The Saint John's Bible: A Modern Vision through Medieval Methods. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2009.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore, ca. 1909 (?); by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, ca. 1909