Saint Peter

Description This relief was probably part of a set showing the Twelve Apostles enthroned together with Christ at the Second Coming. Attached to the front of an altar table or to the side walls of a large reliquary, the composition would have reminded churchgoers of the divine judgment that awaits them. Peter gazes sternly at us and holds the key with which he will open to the Just the doors of Paradise. Originally, the figure was gilt and backed by an enameled plaque. Two enameled reliefs of the apostles John and Simon, now in the State Hermitage Museum (inv. F 192a-b), probably belonged to the same set as the Walters' Saint Peter.

Exhibitions

• Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. 2001-2002.
• Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. 2002-2005.
• Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Museum of Biblical Art, New York; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. 2008-2009.

Provenance Octave de Rochebrune, Terre-Neuve, Vendée [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Arnold Seligmann, Paris, ca. 1900, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1907 (?) or 1924 (?), by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1907 or 1924 (?)