Pendant (from a reliquary)

This object consists of a goldsmith’s work setting with micro-statuettes of Saints Christopher, Catherine and Margaret, and a carved ivory Crucifixion inserted in a glass cylinder. Christ and the two thieves on their crosses are surrounded by soldiers on foot and on horses, two women and a man (holy women and Saint John?). The level of miniaturisation and the attention to detail in this scene are impressive. Polychromy highlights can be seen on these ivory figures: wounds in the side of Christ, soldiers’ helmets, the thieves’ loincloths, hair, beards, belts.

This pendant was probably a component of a reliquary, like some other similar pieces held in German museums (Cologne, Karlsruhe, Munich). Its crossed arches are characteristic of the Spätgotik (late Gothic) that flourished in the German regions in the late Middle Ages. 

Comparisons with other pendants suggest that the one at the Musée de Cluny was made in southern Germany, perhaps in Nuremberg, which was a major production centre for precious art, probably around 1500.