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| Keywords: Mosan Workshop - Monstrance - Walters 5348.jpg A Mosan reliquary monstrance from the Latin word for showing calls to mind Theophilus's genuine wonderment at precision craftsmanship A tour de force of medieval goldsmithing with respect both to the range of media and the various techniques used in its manufacture the monstrance is composed of rock crystal gilt copper bands adorned with filigree glass and pearls Every surface is the site of elaborate decoration the stem and foot are covered with filigree gemstones and embossed floral designs; inside the bottom of the vessel is lined with a piece of silver with a partially gilded rim; the hinged copper lid is decorated with an engraved leaf pattern filigree and gemstones set with silver bosses decorated with niello an alloy of sulfur silver copper and lead and crowned by a spherical rock crystal finial The filigree work and the repoussé decoration are similar to those of works executed in the western diocese of Liège Belgium In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the region between the Meuse hence Mosan and Rhine was an important center for the production of sophisticated metalwork The circular depression inside the rock crystal container of this monstrance display reliquary suggests that it was made for the display and veneration of the Host communion wafer This beautifully crafted example is a rare early example as monstrances for the Host became popular only after the establishment in 1311 of the Feast of the Holy Sacrament Corpus Christi dedicated to the Host ca 1230 Medieval copper with gilding semi-precious stones niello and rock crystal cm 35 5 12 9 accession number 53 48 14177 E Bonnaffé Paris E Bonnaffe Sale Paris May 3 1897 no 24 Henry Walters Baltimore date of acquisition unknown by purchase Walters Art Museum Henry Walters Acquired by Henry Walters Reliquaries and Ritual Medieval Objects of Devotion The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore 1984-1985 place of origin east Belgium Walters Art Museum license Medieval metalwork in the Walters Art Museum Metalwork by Mosan workshops Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Filigree | ||||
