id:			112878
accession number:	1931.462.b
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1931.462.b
updated:		2020-04-23 09:02:40.778000

Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude (lid), c. 1045. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold, cloisonné 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

title:				Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude (lid)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1045
creation date earliest:		1040
creation date latest:		1050
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
copyright:			

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culture:	Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century
technique:	Gold, cloisonné enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core
department:	Medieval Art
collection:	MED - Romanesque
type:		Metalwork
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art
	opening date:   2007-05-10T00:00:00
	<i>Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art</i>. 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 Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).

	title:		Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe
	opening date:   2010-10-17T00:00:00
	<i>Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe</i>. 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).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* 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.<br>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"

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
Commissioned by Countess Gertrude of Brunswick, this portable altar is one of the Guelph Treasure’s earliest and most sumptuous objects. The choice of white-speckled porphyry as the altar stone signals Gertrude’s worldly aspirations; an imperial color since classical antiquity, porphyry was used only by the imperial family. Historical figures of royal and imperial rank are depicted with Christ, the Virgin, apostles, and archangels along the altar’s sides, stressing the countess’s 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."
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 95
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n31

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 45
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n69

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 45
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n67

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 50
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n70

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1931.462.b/1931.462.b_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1931.462.b/1931.462.b_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1931.462.b/1931.462.b_full.tif