Advertisement
News

Medieval treasures you can see at the Cleveland Museum of Art

A new exhibition taking place at the Cleveland Museum of Art is offering visitors a look at some outstanding treasures. Here are views of five of the items.

The exhibition, Medieval Treasures from Münster Cathedral, includes gold and silver reliquaries, jeweled crosses, liturgical garments, and illuminated manuscripts dating back more than 1,200 years. Most of the objects were made for the cathedral church and have been kept there for many centuries. The exhibition comprises a selection of masterpieces, giving insight into the art of the Middle Ages and the diverse forms of reliquaries, which every church possessed at that time.

Advertisement

These precious objects bring viewers closer to the piety and thinking of an age seemingly long gone. But they also provide direct insight into medieval trade, for example via Paris, as a production center, or Africa, whence some of the materials used in their manufacture originally came.

The exhibition began on May 22nd, and runs until August 14, 2022. To learn more, please visit the Cleveland Museum of Art website.

Advertisement
Bust of Prophet Hosea, c. 1380–90. – Silver, partially gilded, chased, cast, engraved. Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven, Germany
Reliquary Cross, c. 1050–1100. Engraved gem: AD 1–100; rock crystal mounting: 800s–900s; setting: late 1200s. Western Germany; engraved gem: Abbasid. Wood core; gold, chased, engraved, nielloed; filigree; 14 gemstones, 50 pearls; copper, gilded; rock crystal, cut, bored, polished. Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven, Germany
Head Reliquary of Saint Paul, 1050–75 and 1225–50. Northwest Germany, Rhineland(?). Oak wood core; gold, silver, gilded, chased; copper, inlaid with filigree, stones, pearls. Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven, Germany
Baldachin Reliquary of the Mother of God, c. 1400–1410. France: ivory; Münster; frame. Ivory, carved, polished; silver, chased, cast, engraved. Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven, Germany
Reliquary Statuette of Saint Agnes, shortly after 1520. Münster. Silver, mostly gilded, chased, cast, engraved Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven, Germany

 

 

Advertisement