Cleveland Museum of Art

Pendant with the Virgin and Child

Godefroid de Huy

Date

c. 1160–1170

Medium

gilded copper, champlevé enamel; the reverse decorated in vernis brun

Culture

Mosan, Meuse Valley, Romanesque period, 12th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This pendant was made in the Rhine-Meuse region—now in modern Belgium—renowned for the production of fine metalwork objects, especially enamels. An enamel plaque depicting the enthroned Virgin and Christ child dominates the pendant. Four peripheral enamels depict angelic figures representing virtues: Humility, Virginity, Piety, and Mercy, each identified by an inscription. The pendant may have been made to serve as a reliquary to house a consecrated host. The refined craftsmanship and costly materials fittingly honor these sacred remains. The outer lobes contain cabochons, gemstones that have been shaped and polished resulting in a rounded top and flat bottom, of garnet, glass, and quartz.

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