The Martyrdom of St. Catherine
Relief
ca. 1650 (made)
ca. 1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This carved ivory object representing the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria is made by an unknown artist in the middle of the 17th century in Germany.
It was possibly part of the cresting of a reliquary.
St. Catherine also called St Catherine of the Wheel or the Great Martyr Saint Catherine is a Christian Saint and Martyr. Her principal symbol is a spiked wheel and her feast day is 25th November by most Christian churches. The legend tells that she was to be condemned to death on a wheel, which broke, when she touched it. She was then beheaded instead.
It was possibly part of the cresting of a reliquary.
St. Catherine also called St Catherine of the Wheel or the Great Martyr Saint Catherine is a Christian Saint and Martyr. Her principal symbol is a spiked wheel and her feast day is 25th November by most Christian churches. The legend tells that she was to be condemned to death on a wheel, which broke, when she touched it. She was then beheaded instead.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Martyrdom of St. Catherine (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory in relief |
| Brief description | Relief, carved in ivory, representing the Martyrdom of St Catherine of Alexandria, German, ca. 1650 |
| Physical description | This pierced relief in ivory represents the martyrdom of St. Catherine. In the centre is a scaffold with a broken wheel and an angel descending towards the kneeling Saint: executioners and spectators stand round amazed, and on the right the Emperor Maxentius is enthroned. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Bought from the Museum of the Collegio Romano, Rome in 1859. It was possibly part of the cresting of a reliquary. |
| Historical context | A somewhat similar composition appears among the fourteenth-century reliefs of the Life of St. Catherine by Tino di Camaino and his pupils, in white marble on a ground of black marble, in the Church of Santa Chiara at Naples. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This carved ivory object representing the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria is made by an unknown artist in the middle of the 17th century in Germany. It was possibly part of the cresting of a reliquary. St. Catherine also called St Catherine of the Wheel or the Great Martyr Saint Catherine is a Christian Saint and Martyr. Her principal symbol is a spiked wheel and her feast day is 25th November by most Christian churches. The legend tells that she was to be condemned to death on a wheel, which broke, when she touched it. She was then beheaded instead. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4717-1859 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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