Choirmaster's Crozier with Saints Valerie, Martial, and Michael

Description This unusual crozier branches into two volutes, containing on one side St. Valerie kneeling with her decapitated head, guided by a small angel. St. Martial, the bishop who converted her to Christianity, is seen on the other side, celebrating the Mass. At the top is the archangel St. Michael; all three were patron saints of Limoges. Made for a choirmaster, this crozier's two volutes symbolize the two parts of the chants (verses and responses) that were traditionally sung by a choir of monks.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
4/12/1961	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1999-2000.

Provenance Dugué, Paris, before 1847; Sale, Paris, March 7, 1851, no. 2; Hollingworth Magniac, Colworth, Bedford, 1851, by purchase; Charles Magniac, Colworth, 1867, by inheritance; Sale, Christie's, London, July 2, 1892, no. 504; Edward Arnold, London, by purchase; Sale, London, June 8, 1920, no. 183; Webb; George Robinson Harding, London, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1920, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1920