Plaque from a Shrine

Description This plaque probably came from the St. Anno Shrine (1183) in Cologne. The engraved heads were modeled on antique sources such as Roman gems and cameos fitted into large church-shaped shrines in this period. Plaques of this type were used to conceal the joints in the metalwork.

Exhibitions

• The Year 1200. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1970.

Provenance Paul Beumer, Berlin; Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York; Joseph Brummer Sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 20, 1949, no. 697; Walters Art Museum, 1949, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1949