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Tabernacle Door with Pietà
(Baroque Europe )
The Host (Communion wafer consecrated by the priest) was preserved inside the tabernacle. During the Mass, Christ's body is believed to become miraculously present in the Host (transubstantiation). The Mass is a symbolic reenactment of his sacrifice, which explains the image of the Pietà (the Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ-an image combining the ultimate in pity and piety) on the tabernacle.
This relief is one of many copies of an image that was believed to be miraculous, preserved in a church in the city of Chioggia, south of Venice.
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.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Germany
(Place of Origin)
Italy (Place of Origin)
Measurements
9 3/16 x 6 9/16 in. (23.3 x 16.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
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.
54.346