Reliquary of the True Cross

c. 1214

Maker Unknown

Medieval Art

Reliquary of the True Cross, c. 1214. Cross: Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem Panel: Rhine-Meuse region, Gothic period, 13th century. Silver, gilded silver, niello, precious stones, walnut core; overall: 44 x 31 x 4.7 cm (17 5/16 x 12 3/16 x 1 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1952.89

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Maker Unknown
Classification: Metalwork
Formatted Medium: silver, gilded silver, niello, precious stones, walnut core
Medium: silver, gilded, niello, precious, stones, walnut, core
Dimensions: Overall: 44 x 31 x 4.7 cm (17 5/16 x 12 3/16 x 1 7/8 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: the Latin inscription on the border of the cover, written in gothic characters, translates as follows: "If you want information about the cross, read this: A priest, a true descendant of Judas, stole the relic and boarded a ship. Instead of the fair breeze he was wishing for, the aggrieved sailors ran into a tempest. The priest became raving mad to the point of gnawing his own hands. The Virgin Mary appeared to him and said: 'You will immediately recover your wits it you undertake to give back what you robbed.' He thereupon bequeathed the relic to the Knights Templars and agonized, brooding on himself: 'As long as I breathe, the waves will form horrible whirlpools. If I am thrown into the sea, it will quiet down.' He gave up the ghost and was thrown overboard. The pilgrims happily disembarked at Brindisi and returned peacefully to their country with the relic of the cross which you see beautifully set in its container. The panel-shaped reliquary was made in the year of the incarnation 1214 in the month of February." On front, Latin inscriptions listing the relics run between the inner and outer lines of the ovals and inside the two roundels not circumscribed by an oval.
Departments: Medieval Art
Accession Number: 1952.89
Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Exhibitions: Ornamenta Ecclesiae: Romanesque Art and Artists in Cologne, All That Glitters: Great Silver Vessels in Cleveland's Collection, Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe, Every People Under Heaven: Jerusalem, 1000–1400, Cologne, 1985, Schnutgen Museums: Ornamenta Ecclesiaw, vol.3, cat.no.H43<br>CMA, October 17, 2010 - January 17, 2011, Walters Art Museum February 13 - May 15, 2011, British Museum June 23 - October 9, 2011: "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe," cat. no. 49.<br>The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (9/19/2016 – 1/8/2017): "Every People Under Heaven: Jerusalem, 1000–1400" cat. no. 25f, p. 62.
Rights Statement: CC0
Museum Location: 106C Medieval Treasury