id: 112878 accession number: 1931.462.b share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1931.462.b updated: 2021-01-08 10:00:26.298000 Trap door for the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, 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: Trap door for the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1045 creation date earliest: 1040 creation date latest: 1050 current location: 106C Medieval Treasury creditline: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust copyright: --- 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: --- CREATORS --- 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: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2007-05-10T00:00:00 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). title: Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe opening date: 2010-10-17T00:00:00 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). --- 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.
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" --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: By removing this door located on the bottom of the altar, the numerous small relics of saints wrapped in silk are revealed. 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 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’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." --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS 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 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 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 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 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: url: https://medium.com/cma-thinker/worshiping-in-place-through-art-the-hidden-gems-of-the-portable-altar-of-countess-gertrude-48f9457d9cc5 --- 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