Triptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ

Master Pertoldus

1494 · Silver, gilded silver, mother-of-pearl, bone, and cold enamel · The Cloisters

This triptych is remarkable for its completeness as well as for the high quality of its execution. At the center of the shrine is Crucifixion, with Christ before Annas on the bottom panel of the left wing, and the Bearing of the Cross above. On the right wing, the Agony in the Garden is at top, with the Entombment below. Above the center section are three medallions (the one on the left is a modern replacement) representing, from left to right: Saint Catherine, the Virgin and Child, and Saint George and the Dragon. The Annunciation appears on the large medallion below the Crucifixion. In addition to these carved appliqués and the silver figure of Christ at the top, the triptych is embellished with skillful engravings. Saints Andrew, Benedict, and Catherine appear on the base, while the Last Supper is depicted in the reverse of the central shrine, flanked by the Flagellation and the Arrest of Christ (left), and the Crown of Thorns and the Resurrection of Christ (right). The inscription on the back and above the Last Supper —RUDBERTI ABBATIS PERSTO EGO IUSSO SUO (I stand by order of Abbot Rupert)—links the triptych to Abbot Rupert Keutzl of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Peter at Salzburg. The date 1494 appears three times on the object. Documents record a triptych made about this date by the goldsmith Pertoldus, but we cannot be certain that that work is the same as The Cloisters' triptych.

Artist

Master Pertoldus

Date

1494

Medium

Silver, gilded silver, mother-of-pearl, bone, and cold enamel

Culture

Austrian

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

Gift of Ruth and Leopold Blumka, 1969