{
"data": {
"id": 112878,
"accession_number": "1931.462.b",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Trap door for the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, c. 1045. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold, cloisonn\u00e9 enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core; overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1931.462.b",
"current_location": "106C Medieval Treasury",
"title": "Trap door for the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude",
"creation_date": "c. 1045",
"creation_date_earliest": 1040,
"creation_date_latest": 1050,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century"
],
"technique": "Gold, cloisonn\u00e9 enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Medieval Art",
"collection": "MED - Romanesque",
"type": "Metalwork",
"measurements": "Overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.105,
"height_inch": 4,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.125,
"width": 0.275,
"width_inch": 10,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.8125,
"depth": 0.21,
"depth_inch": 8,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.25
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 180667,
"title": "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art",
"description": "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).",
"opening_date": "2007-05-10T00:00:00"
},
{
"id": 196195,
"title": "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe",
"description": "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 17, 2010-January 17, 2011); The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (February 13-May 15, 2011); The British Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (June 23-October 9, 2011).",
"opening_date": "2010-10-17T00:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "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. 42.",
"opening_date": "2011-02-13T00:00:00"
},
{
"description": "Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): \"Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art\"",
"opening_date": "2007-05-10T00:00:00"
}
]
},
"provenance": [],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "By removing this door located on the bottom of the altar, the numerous small relics of saints wrapped in silk are revealed.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"description": "Commissioned by Countess Gertrude of Brunswick, this portable altar is one of the Guelph Treasure\u2019s earliest and most sumptuous objects. The choice of white-speckled porphyry as the altar stone signals Gertrude\u2019s worldly aspirations; an imperial color since classical antiquity, porphyry was only used by the imperial family. Historical figures of royal and imperial rank are depicted with Christ, the Virgin, apostles, and archangels along the altar\u2019s sides, stressing the countess\u2019s political ambitions and claim of imperial lineage for her own dynasty. The Latin inscription surrounding the altar stone reads, \"Gertrude offers to Christ, to live joyfully in him, this stone that glistens with gems and gold.\"",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1931.462.b-trap-door-for-the-po"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 95",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n31"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 45",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n69"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 45",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n67"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 50",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n70"
},
{
"citation": "May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: no. 19, p. 24",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Mikolic, Amanda. Worshiping in Place through Art: The Hidden Gems of the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude. Cleveland Museum of Art The Thinker Blog on Medium. July 16, 2020.",
"page_number": null,
"url": "https://medium.com/cma-thinker/worshiping-in-place-through-art-the-hidden-gems-of-the-portable-altar-of-countess-gertrude-48f9457d9cc5"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1931.462.b",
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"date_created": "2005-08-11T14:59:40",
"annotation": ""
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],
"creditline": "Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 112878,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1931-01-15T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1040,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "c. 1045",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "part",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": "1931.462",
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Gertrudis Portable Altar"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-05-29 05:56:50.651000"
}
}