Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Reliquary with the Man of Sorrows
(Medieval Europe )
The image of the Man of Sorrows is a distillation of the events of Christ's Passion. Christ contemplates with sorrow the instruments of his suffering: the cross and hammer, whips, nails, column of the Flagellation, and the dice thrown by the soldiers for his garments. The gabled container held by an angel once housed a thorn believed to be from Christ's Crown of Thorns, while the hinged cross and column probably held pieces of wood believed to be from Christ's cross and from the column against which he was whipped.
According to an inscription on the base, the reliquary was ordered by the bishop of Olomouc in Moravia to house the Holy Thorn. It was surely a present for Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Both men's coats of arms (those of Moravia and Bohemia) are on the base, and the thorn was already in the emperor's famous collection of relics, as a gift from the king of France. As Charles reigned over both Bohemia and Moravia only from 1347 to 1349, the piece dates to this time. The sophisticated workmanship is characteristic of objects created for the imperial court in Prague.
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.
Jacques Seligmann, Paris; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 9 1903; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2016-2017 | A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. |
| 2010-2011 | Treasures of Heaven. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The British Museum, London. |
| 2006-2007 | Silesia - A Pearl in the Bohemian Crown: Three Periods of Flourishing Artistic Relations. Waldstein Riding School, Prague, Prague. |
| 2005-2006 | Prague: The Crown of Bohemia. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Prague Castle, Prague 1. |
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 2000-2001 | The Way to Heaven: Relic Veneration in the Middle Ages. Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht; Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, Amsterdam. |
| 1984-1985 | Reliquaries and Ritual: Medieval Objects of Devotion. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1978-1979 | Die Parler und der Schöne Stil, 1350-1400. Schnütgen-Museum, Cologne. |
| 1978 | Kaiser Karl IV, 1316-1378. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich. |
| 1962 | The International Style: The Arts in Europe Around 1400. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 3/22/1955 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 4/12/1961 | Treatment | cleaned; coated; reconstructed |
| 3/22/1962 | Treatment | repaired; coated |
| 3/28/1962 | Treatment | cleaned; coated; repaired |
| 4/11/1978 | Loan Consideration | other |
| 8/16/1999 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 4/12/2000 | Examination | examined for technical study |
| 5/1/2006 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 5/31/2006 | Treatment | examined for technical study; other |
| 6/1/2006 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 1/1/2007 | Examination | examined for technical study |
| 10/23/2009 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 5/24/2016 | Treatment | Cleaned, repaired |
| 5/24/2016 | Treatment | Deteriorated acrylic coating was removed with appropriate solvents; dark silver tarnish was reduced as possible; new coating applied to forestall future tarnishing; mechanical connection between figure of Christ and base repaired. |
| 8/3/2017 | Treatment | Treated for exhibition |
| 8/3/2017 | Treatment | The protective coating was damaged during a recent traveling exhibition. The recently applied coating was retouched. |
| 11/29/2017 | Treatment | Cleaned for exhibition. |
| 11/29/2017 | Treatment | A recent lacquer coating broke down during shipment and handling for exhibition. The damaged coating was locally removed and replaced. |
Geographies
Czech Republic, Prague (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 11 5/8 x W at wings: 8 3/8 x D: 5 in. (29.53 x 21.27 x 12.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903
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.
57.700