Saints Chariton and Alexander
(Byzantium and Early Russia)
This painted enamel pendant was probably commissioned as a baptism gift. An inscription on the back of the silver frame gives a birth date (September 9, 1768), and the date of the child's "name day," or baptism (September 28), also the date of the feasts of Saints Chariton the Confessor and Alexander the Coppersmith of Phrygia. These saints, one of whom is probably the namesake of the pendant's infant owner, are painted on the front of the pendant, with St. Chariton's scroll advising: "Brethren, be clean in soul and in body."
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Pashkov family, Moscow, by descent; Leon Grinberg ("A La Vieille Russie"), New York [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1952, by purchase.
Exhibitions
1996-1997 | Russian Enamels. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Russia, Saint Petersburg (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/8 x W: 2 1/16 in. (8 x 5.2 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1952
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
44.627