Description
This beautiful Gothic angel is probably a surviving element from a large architectural reliquary. The last clue to its lost context disappeared when the symbolic attribute was twisted from the angel’s fingers, possibly during the destructive zeal of the French Revolution. The technique and style are characteristic of the lay workshops employed by the Valois courts during the early 1400s.
Provenance
(Blumka Gallery, New York, NY, sold to Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin) (?–1971); Mrs. Alfred M. [Clara Taplin] Rankin [b. 1917], given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1971–1972); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1972–)
Accession Number
1972.74
Medium
gilt bronze
Dimensions
Overall: 8.6 cm (3 3/8 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin