The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 28, 2023

Quatrilobed Plaque (pair): The Annunciation and The Descent from the Cross

c. 1350–1400

Part of a set. See all set records

Spain, Catalonia?, 14th century

Translucent enamel (basse-taille) on silver

Overall: 8.3 x 8.3 cm (3 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1922.312

Location

110B Late Gothic

Description

These plaques were probably originally placed at the end of the arms of a processional cross. They are decorated in an enameling technique called basse-taille in which colorful translucent enamel pastes are fused over an engraved and chased silver plaque.

Provenance
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, Cleveland, Ohio.
Citations
Richter, Rainer. "Between Original and Imitation: Four Technical Studies in Basse-Taille Enameling and Re-Enameling of the Historicism Period." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 7 (1994): 222-51. Reproduced: p. 224, 235-37; Mentioned: p. 222-51 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).

When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1922.312