Monstrance

Unknown

ca. 1500 · Silver, silver gilt, translucent and opaque enamels, rock crystal · The Cloisters

This monstrance is constructed largely of silver sheets that have been decorated with elaborate pierced work, a technique favored by Spanish goldsmiths in the early sixteenth century. The enamel and niello medallions represent a lioness breathing life into its cubs and a pelican feeding its fledglings with the blood of its breast. Both subjects allude to the redemption of humankind through Christ's sacrifice, suggesting that the vessel originally displayed a Eucharistic wafer.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1500

Medium

Silver, silver gilt, translucent and opaque enamels, rock crystal

Culture

Spanish

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1999