Reliquary Pendant thumbnail 1
Reliquary Pendant thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Reliquary Pendant

1450-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Reliquary Pendant, silver, silver gilt, of circular form, enriched with a band of stylized open foliage, with at the top an inverted lobed and gadrooned cap with a hoop and corded suspension ring. The figures and motifs cast in relief and applied to a plain background.

On the obverse a depiction of the Annunciation. Gabriel (left) holds a staff topped by a star and encircled by a scroll inscribed in Gothic letters ''a / g/ p' (Ave Maria Gracia Plena). Above is the right hand of God appearing from clouds and loosing the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin is seated with an open book on her lap. On the reverse a depiction of the Mass of St Gregory. To the right on an altar, Christ, nailed to the Cross whose titulus is inscribed inri in Gothic letters, rises from a casket, holding a sheaf of wheat and a bunch of grapes. Gregory kneels before the altar, hands clasped in prayer. Behind him stand two figures, one supporting his tiara, the other holding a staff. On the extreme left are symbols of the Passion.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, silver gilt
Brief description
Reliquary pendant, silver, silver gilt, depicting the Annunciation and the Mass of St Gregory. South German, 1450-1500
Physical description
Reliquary Pendant, silver, silver gilt, of circular form, enriched with a band of stylized open foliage, with at the top an inverted lobed and gadrooned cap with a hoop and corded suspension ring. The figures and motifs cast in relief and applied to a plain background.

On the obverse a depiction of the Annunciation. Gabriel (left) holds a staff topped by a star and encircled by a scroll inscribed in Gothic letters ''a / g/ p' (Ave Maria Gracia Plena). Above is the right hand of God appearing from clouds and loosing the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin is seated with an open book on her lap. On the reverse a depiction of the Mass of St Gregory. To the right on an altar, Christ, nailed to the Cross whose titulus is inscribed inri in Gothic letters, rises from a casket, holding a sheaf of wheat and a bunch of grapes. Gregory kneels before the altar, hands clasped in prayer. Behind him stand two figures, one supporting his tiara, the other holding a staff. On the extreme left are symbols of the Passion.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 3.4cm
  • Height: 7.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
'a / g / p' (Obverse, in Latin, in Gothic letter)
Translation
Ave [Maria]Gracia Plena (Hail Mary, full of Grace)
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Lightbown, Ronald. Medieval European Jewellery: with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1992. cat. 50, p. 509.
Collection
Accession number
168-1906

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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