Creative Commons License
Reliquary with Apostles
(Medieval Europe )
This octagonal reliquary, or container for saints' relics, is decorated with standing figures of eight apostles, all carved in a compact, linear style more typical of the 11th and 12th centuries. The shape of the reliquary, though, is 13th-century. The plaques are carved from bone, which was more plentiful and less expensive than elephant ivory. The reliquary, one of seven small tower-shaped vessels to survive from Cologne, originally rested on four short feet and was crowned by a knob finial.
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.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1984-1985 | Reliquaries and Ritual: Medieval Objects of Devotion. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1983-1984 | Ivory: The Sumptuous Art. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Germany, Cologne (Place of Origin)
Measurements
7 7/8 x 5 3/16 x 5 3/16 in. (20 x 13.2 x 13.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art
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.
71.146