French - Chrismatory - Walters 44102 - Back
A chrismatory served as a container for the three vials of holy oil (or chrism) used in church rites. These were the oil for the consecration of priests and churches, the oil for confirmation of the young, and ... More
French - Snuffbox with Mythological Scenes and Landscapes - Walters 57...
In "en plein" enameling, the enamel is applied directly to areas that have been carved out of a surface. This oval box displays Rococo gold work in scrolls and floral motifs. On the cover is a scene of Venus re... More
French - Book Cover Plaque - Walters 4482
This elaborate, enameled plaque was once attached to the cover of a Gospel book or a lectionary, a manuscript containing passages from the four Gospels arranged to be read throughout the year. At the center, Ch... More
French - Choirmaster's Crozier with Saints Valerie, Martial, and Micha...
This unusual crozier branches into two volutes, containing on one side St. Valerie kneeling with her decapitated head, guided by a small angel. St. Martial, the bishop who converted her to Christianity, is seen... More
French - Enameled Watches with Flowers - Walters 58148 58140 - Front G...
Attributed to Henri Toutin (French, 1614-after 1683). 'Enameled Watch with Flowers,' 1630-1650. gold, glass, and paint on "basse-taille" enamel case, gold and paint on "basse-taille" enamel dial, gilt on brass ... More
French - Head of a Crozier - Walters 4162 - Back
This rare and beautiful crozier represents the only known example made entirely of rock crystal, a hard stone that is very difficult to work. The skill of the carver can be seen in the smoothly arching leaves a... More
French - Ring with a Lady as Diana - Walters 571750 - Group
The painted enamel on the bezel shows Diana wearing a baldric and cloak with one breast exposed. A crescent moon and aigrette are in her hair.
French - Saint Damian - Walters 27285 - Three Quarter Right
Medieval medicine offered few cures. Christians focused their hopes for recovery from illness or accident on their prayers to saints to intercede for them with God. Saints Cosmas and Damian, Protasius and Ger... More
French - Saint Elzéar Curing the Lepers - Walters 2716
Franciscan mystic and miracle worker, Saint Elzear of Sabran (1285-1323) is shown curing three lepers, whose deformed features make his cure seem that much more miraculous. This group was carved to ornament th... More
French - Snuffbox with Mythological Scenes and Landscapes - Walters 57...
In "en plein" enameling, the enamel is applied directly to areas that have been carved out of a surface. This oval box displays Rococo gold work in scrolls and floral motifs. On the cover is a scene of Venus re... More
French - Window Panel with Saint Vincent on the Rack - Walters 4669
This stained glass panel, once part of a pair of windows from the Lady Chapel at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, represents Saint Vincent of Saragossa who was martyred in Gaul (France) in AD 304 under Emperor Diocletia... More
French - Casket with Scenes from Romances - Walters 7314 - Right Side
This leather box was probably used to store important documents, money, or other precious objects. It is decorated with courtship scenes and was originally painted and highlighted with gilding.
French - Choir Gates - Walters 52283
Beginning in the mid-17th century, ironwork played a major role in French architecture. Throughout the next century, this trend continued, sustained by the talents of such notable designers as Giles Marie Oppen... More
French - Mourner - Walters 27339
In a remarkable expression of realism, the artist conveys the "weight" of personal grief through the rhythmic interplay of heavy folds of drapery. The mourner's face is carved, but it would not have been visibl... More
French - Pendant with a Monk and Death - Walters 71461
Surely intended for the use of a monk, this pendant represents a head divided to depict a monk on one half, and a skull on the other, making explicit the user's own mortality and the certainty of death. The car... More
French - Virgin and Child - Walters 71188
The small scale and domestic character of this statuette indicate that it was used for personal devotion. Mary is presented as a down-to-earth mother playing with her child. Her long, uncovered hair, a style ... More
French - Coin Cabinet with Royal Arms of Louis XIV - Walters 7315
This cabinet bears the arms of King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715); it may have been a gift from the monarch or a royal possession.
French - Portrait of Béatrice de Cusance, Princess of Cantecroix - Wal...
The half-length portrait represents the princess turned to the right, her face in three-quarters view. Her hair is cut with short locks at the sides, and with a slight bang over the forehead. She wears a decoll... More
French - Reliquary Shrine of St Martial - Walters 44119 - Three Quarte...
the scene depicted on the roof of this chasse is ambiguous, lacking identifying inscriptions or attributes. The figure whose arm Christ grasps has been identified with several saints, including Marial of Limoge... More
French - Ring with Openwork Bezel - Walters 571749 - Group
Gold ring with silver collets, marquise bezel with faceted topaz. Public domain photograph of a ring, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
French - Saint Peter Enthroned - Walters 27269
St. Peter is enthroned, one hand raised in blessing and the other holding the keys to heaven and earth granted him by Christ. Although Peter was never a pope (the office had not been created then), he was ackn... More
French - Virgin and Child - Walters 27255
This wooden sculpture of the Virgin and Child is typical of the Romanesque style. In order to convey the idealized, heavenly nature of the subject, the artist gave the holy figures compact, self-contained bodie... More
French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Right
This splendid casket is carved with scenes from romances and allegorical literature representing the courtly ideals of love and heroism. In the center of the lid, knights joust as ladies watch from the balcony... More
French - Double Capital Depicting Saints Cosmas and Damian (Guild of B...
Guilds of various natures often sponsored artworks. In this late fifteenth-century capital from a monastery in Gascony (France), the arms of the guild of barber-surgeons is prominently displayed. The coat of ar... More
French - Hand and a Half Sword - Walters 51479
The grip on this sword is long enough to permit the man to steady the hand holding the heavy sword with the other hand. The sword has been reassembled with parts replaced.
French - Opening Madonna Triptych - Walters 71152 - Back
This rare and unusual Vierge ouvrante ("opening Madonna") takes the form of a triptych which, when closed, shows the Virgin enthroned, and, when open, displays scenes from the Passion of Christ. The statuette, ... More
French - Apostle - Walters 5344
One of four similar figures representing the apostles; three of the four hold books; this fourth holds a scroll inscribed: DEUS MEUS ("My God") identifying him as Doubting Thomas, who thrust his finger into the... More
French - Casket with Scenes from Romances - Walters 7314 - Top View C
This leather box was probably used to store important documents, money, or other precious objects. It is decorated with courtship scenes and was originally painted and highlighted with gilding.
French - Diptych Leaf with the Crucifixion and Flagellation - Walters ...
The bands of small roses at the top of the two scenes identify this plaque as one of the "Rose Group" of ivories, characterized by their carefully arranged figures and graceful poses. The upper register shows ... More
French - Holy Woman from a Crucifixion Group - Walters 27287
This piece is carved and painted. The paint has fallen off in places, and the hands and base have been restored.
French - Rim Lock for a Chest with Key - Walters 52172
This lock was designed to hang over the exterior edge of a chest. The keyhole is disguised by a hinged plate bearing an unidentified coat of arms. The three-dimensional geometric design of the key gives it an i... More
French - Ring - Walters 571762 - Group
The ring displays an octagonal bezel in openwork "fleurs de lys" pattern surrounding a central jadeite mask. It is thought that this ring was made for a member of the Spanish court.
French - The Beheading of St John the Baptist - Walters 44341
On the plaque is represented the decollation of St. John the Baptist, blindfolded and kneeling at the door of his jail, dressed in his robe of camel's hair. The executioner swings a long sword with both hands. ... More
French - Virgin and Child and Crucifixion - Walters 71178 (2)
Each scene is placed beneath a single trefoil arch that is surmounted by a crocketed gable pierced with a trefoil. Two quatrefoils with protruding cones decorate the wall above. In the left wing the standing Vi... More
French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Left
This splendid casket is carved with scenes from romances and allegorical literature representing the courtly ideals of love and heroism. In the center of the lid, knights joust as ladies watch from the balcony... More
French - Diptych with the Virgin and Child, and the Crucifixion - Walt...
On this diptych, the emotional quality of the Crucifixion is increased by the detail of the blood that spurts from Christ's side and pierces the Virgin's breast like a knife. This motif probably originated in G... More
French - Figure of a Deacon - Walters 4418 - Three Quarter Right
This relief figure resembles a statuette now in the church of Les Billanges (western France). Both figures hold a rectangular object upright against their chest that has been identified as a reliquary of the Tr... More
French - Head of an Apostle - Walters 27350
This elegant head from a statue is characteristically Gothic in appearance, with its symmetrical features and abundant, tight curls. Multiple layers of paint, traces of which remain, attest to the age of the he... More
French - Plaque with Emblem - Walters 44284
A rectangular plaque displays an oval wreath of laurel leaves enframing a device composed of a pair of wings and a scroll inscribed: SVB VMBRA TVARTVM [alarum]- a free rendering of Psalm 91:4 (Vulgata 90:4), tr... More
French - Reliquary Shrine with Christ and Apostles - Walters 44106 - S...
A reliquary shrine was made to hold the precious relics, or remains, of a saint. On this example, Christ is seated at the center of both the roof and the lower panel, flanked by a pair of apostles under gracefu... More
French - Chest - Walters 653 - Three Quarter
The panels with late Gothic tracery and decorated with coats of arms, including those of France and Brittany, are original, but the assemblage is 19th-century.
French - Covered Bowl with Flowers and Plum Blossoms - Walters 491982
This is an example of "famille verte" porcelain. Public domain reproduction of a teapot, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
French - Opening Madonna Triptych - Walters 71152 - Front Open (2)
This rare and unusual Vierge ouvrante ("opening Madonna") takes the form of a triptych which, when closed, shows the Virgin enthroned, and, when open, displays scenes from the Passion of Christ. The statuette, ... More
French - Phyrne - Walters 71368 - Right Three Quarter
Phyrne stands on an ivory socle mounted on a wooden base. Her elaborately braided coiffure is bound with a ribbon and a strand of graduated pearls. Turning her head, she shields her face with her left forearm. ... More
French - Plaque with the Penitent Saint Jerome - Walters 44215
St. Jerome (ca. 341-420), one of the Fathers of the Church, did penance in the Syrian desert for having focused on classical studies instead of on Christ. He then returned to civilization to combine these pass... More
French - Saint Gervasius - Walters 27284
Medieval medicine offered few cures. Christians focused their hopes for recovery from illness or accident on their prayers to saints to intercede for them with God. Saints Cosmas and Damian, Protasius and Gerv... More
French - Snuffbox with Mythological Scenes and Landscapes - Walters 57...
In "en plein" enameling, the enamel is applied directly to areas that have been carved out of a surface. This oval box displays Rococo gold work in scrolls and floral motifs. On the cover is a scene of Venus re... More
French - Abbess Seal in the Form of a Madonna - Walters 711162 - Back
Seals were used to authenticate personal as well as state documents. The design carved on the base would be pressed into melted sealing wax that would then harden in the air. The letter "H" on this seal was p... More
French - Coffret and Key - Walters 7312
Coffrets, or small boxes, covered with leather were often used to store documents or other desk objects. It is decorated with floral patterns and includes two inscriptions: on the right, "J'ay bien choisi" ("I... More
French - Comb with Secular Scenes - Walters 71266 - Reverse
The comb, which has floral terminals, has on one side a scene of a man and seated woman preparing to play "kick foot" in a tilt yard as spectators watch from behind the railing. On the reverse are two scenes. O... More
French - Comb with Secular Scenes - Walters 71266
The comb, which has floral terminals, has on one side a scene of a man and seated woman preparing to play "kick foot" in a tilt yard as spectators watch from behind the railing. On the reverse are two scenes. O... More
French - Enameled Watch with Flowers - Walters 58140 - Back
G. Gamod (French). 'Enameled Watch with Flowers,' 1630-1650. gold, glass, and paint on "basse-taille" enamel case, gold and paint on "basse-teaille" enamel dial, gilt on brass and steel movement. Walters Art Mu... More
French - Gemellion (Liturgical Plate) with Peacocks - Walters 4471
A gemellion (from the Latin geminus, meaning twin) is one of a pair of basins used to wash hands, both at home and during mass. Water was poured from the spouted bowl over the hands and was caught in the second... More
French - Phyrne - Walters 71368 - Back
Phyrne stands on an ivory socle mounted on a wooden base. Her elaborately braided coiffure is bound with a ribbon and a strand of graduated pearls. Turning her head, she shields her face with her left forearm. ... More
French - Powder Tester - Walters 51561
Powder testers resemble gun locks in form, but their function is to gauge the explosive power of gunpowder. Powder placed in the tester's pan is ignited, releasing a spring-lever that strikes a point on a scale... More
French - Saint Bridget of Sweden - Walters 27443
Saint Bridget (ca. 1303-1373) was canonized for her great piety and her exemplary dedication to the poor. Her greatest influence, however, was through her writings, recording her visions of Christ. These wide... More
French - Saint Damian - Walters 27285 - Back
Medieval medicine offered few cures. Christians focused their hopes for recovery from illness or accident on their prayers to saints to intercede for them with God. Saints Cosmas and Damian, Protasius and Ger... More
French - Virgin and Child - Walters 27265
The head and the right hand of the Virgin and the head of the child in this sculpture are modern. The sculpture is broken in two pieces and mended, and the hands of the child are missing.
French - Writing Tablet with Scenes from the Lives of Virgil and Arist...
This writing tablet has a depression for wax on the underside, but the lid that protected the wax is missing. Legends about wily women making fools of intelligent men from classical times were very popular in ... More
French - Box Lid with a Tournament - Walters 71274
Two knights are jousting in front of a grandstand, in which a king, queen, and two courtiers appear behind a draped railing. Two heralds are on horseback at the left; three spectators stand at the right. The kn... More
French - Chatelaine with Watch - Walters 5816
Decorative chatelaines were worn by men and women as pendants and multifunctional devices for carrying utensils like watches, signet seals, and sewing accessories. They were suspended from the waistband by mean... More
French - Child's Suit of Armor - Walters 51590 (2)
From childhood, sons of noblemen might join in ceremonial occasions for which armor was required. Appearing with adult male relatives signaled dynastic continuity and acceptance of a moral code and responsibili... More
French - Crozier with the Annunciation - Walters 44121 - Profile
The head of this crozier (pastoral staff) for a bishop or abbot shows the first event of Christ's incarnation. The archangel Gabriel raises his right arm in a gesture indicating his greeting: Hail Mary, full of... More
French - Diptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ - Walters 7117...
By the middle of the 14th century, the ivory workshops of Paris were creating large-scale diptychs (two hinged panels) with numerous scenes from the Passion cycle. Thirteen are found here reading from top to bo... More
French - Morse with Apostles and Heraldic Shields - Walters 5349
This morse, or clasp, was once sewn onto a bishop's cope (ceremonial robe). The two heraldic shields, added later, represent the arms of Léon and Castile (left) and England (right). These shields suggest that t... More
French - Phyrne - Walters 71368
Phyrne stands on an ivory socle mounted on a wooden base. Her elaborately braided coiffure is bound with a ribbon and a strand of graduated pearls. Turning her head, she shields her face with her left forearm. ... More
French - Reliquary Shrine with Scenes from the Life of Christ - Walter...
One long side of this shrine shows the Massacre of the Innocents, with the dog-faced Devil counseling the enthroned King Herod at the far right of the lower panel. Above, the Virgin and Child are led by Joseph ... More
French - Saint Cosmas - Walters 27283 - Left Side
Medieval medicine offered few cures. Christians focused their hopes for recovery from illness or accident on their prayers to saints to intercede for them with God. Saints Cosmas and Damian, Protasius and Gerv... More
Joseph-Théodore Deck - Plate in "Turkish" Style - Walters 481912
Deck was France's most innovative and influential ceramist during the 19th century. A native of Alsace, on the German border, he came to Paris in 1851 and began working for a stove-maker. By 1858, he had establ... More
Claude Monet - Springtime - Walters 3711
Monet moved to Argenteuil, a suburban town on the right bank of the Seine River northwest of Paris, in late December 1871. Many of the types of scenes that he and the other Impressionists favored could be found... More
French - Cross Fragment of the Mourning Virgin - Walters 4422
This finely worked plaque of the Virgin was originally placed on the left arm of a very large cross. The outer border has decorative characters resembling Arabic known as pseudo-Kufic script. A nearly identic... More
French - Half-length Figure of a Prophet From a "Sepulchre" - Walters ...
The tip of the nose, and part of the left hand of this carved polychrome piece are modern.
French - Reliquary Shrine with the Adoration of the Magi - Walters 442...
The front of the shrine shows the Three Magi on horseback and, below, they present their gifts, seen here as elaborate containers that resemble small reliquaries, to Mary and the Christ Child. A standing saint... More
Appert Frères - Vase Showing a Japanese Lady - Walters 47380 - Side A
Rousseau is regarded as a major pioneer in the renewal of French glass design during the 19th century. In this example, a Japanese lady wearing a kimono and carrying a fan is posed against an oval doorway.
French - Cannetille Ware Bracelet - Walters 572332 - Back
"During the period of peace after the Napoleonic Wars, the sumptuous arts experienced rapid recovery and gold once again became more reasonable. In England and France there emerged in the 1820s and early 1830s ... More
French - Central Fragment of a Market Cross with the Crucifixion and a...
This piece is carved in relief on both faces and is considerably damaged.
French - Crozier with the Virgin and Child, and the Crucifixion - Walt...
Croziers, or staffs of office in the form of shepherds' crooks, were carried by both bishops and abbots. Carved on one face of the crozier are the Virgin and St. John flanking the Crucified Christ; on the other... More
French - Diptych Leaf with the Crucifixion and Flagellation - Walters ...
The bands of small roses at the top of the two scenes identify this plaque as one of the "Rose Group" of ivories, characterized by their carefully arranged figures and graceful poses. The upper register shows ... More
French - Eucharistic Dove - Walters 4477 - Profile
Used for storing communion wafers, doves such as this were suspended above the altar to signify the presence of the Holy Spirit at the Mass. On this fine, colorful example, the sparkling glass eyes and shimmeri... More
French - Ewer Basin with the Gathering of Manna - Walters 481374
The demand for Italian maiolica spread to other European countries by the late 16th century, and some Italian potters found it profitable to move their workshops to France. The painting of this basin is awkward... More
French - Hunting-Dog Whistle - Walters 71395
The upper surface of the whistle is carved with symbols of love, whereas the bottom shows hunting scenes.
French - Lintel with Samson and Delilah - Walters 27580
The roundels of this stone lintel show, on the left, Samson killing the lion, and, on the right, Delilah holding a flower, a reference to her role as the flirtatious temptress and seducer of Samson. The relief ... More
French - Pair of Jars - Walters 491860, 491861
Anonymous (Chinese). 'One of a Pair of Jars,' Porcelain: 1st quarter 18th century; Mounts: 1780-1790. porcelain with glaze dull blue crackled and French ormolu mounts. Walters Art Museum (49.1861): Acquired by ... More
French - Reliquary Shrine with Scenes from the Life of Christ - Walter...
One long side of this shrine shows the Massacre of the Innocents, with the dog-faced Devil counseling the enthroned King Herod at the far right of the lower panel. Above, the Virgin and Child are led by Joseph ... More
French - Reliquary Shrine with Scenes from the Life of Christ - Walter...
One long side of this shrine shows the Massacre of the Innocents, with the dog-faced Devil counseling the enthroned King Herod at the far right of the lower panel. Above, the Virgin and Child are led by Joseph ... More
French - Ring - Walters 571780 - Group
The openwork "giardinetti" bezel is in the form of a vase of flowers.
French - Snuffbox with Mythological Scenes and Landscapes - Walters 57...
In "en plein" enameling, the enamel is applied directly to areas that have been carved out of a surface. This oval box displays Rococo gold work in scrolls and floral motifs. On the cover is a scene of Venus re... More
French - Vase with Birds and Bamboo - Walters 491854 - Side A
Anonymous (Chinese). 'Vase with Birds and Bamboo,' Porcelain: 1st half 19th century; Mounts: 1870-1880. porcelain with glaze "demi-grand feu" turquoise, etched design in paste, and French ormolu mounts. Walters... More
French - Virgin and Child - Walters 71235 - Three Quarter
This crisply carved devotional statue was once completed by a throne and a gold crown for the Virgin. She rests her feet on a small dragon, symbolizing conquered evil, while the Christ Child raises his right ha... More
French - Virgin and Child - Walters 71239 - Back
This carving is one of the earliest standing Virgin and Child ivories to survive intact from the Gothic period. Despite the sharp, angular style, the artist represented the tender interaction between mother and... More
French - Virgin and Child and Crucifixion - Walters 71178
Each scene is placed beneath a single trefoil arch that is surmounted by a crocketed gable pierced with a trefoil. Two quatrefoils with protruding cones decorate the wall above. In the left wing the standing Vi... More
French - Virgin and Child with Angels - Walters 71213
The small plaque was not made to be half of a diptych since it was never hinged. It may have been intended for a book cover. The 19th-century frame was made in the style of the 13th century and incorporates sil... More
French - Virgin and Child, Crucifixion - Walters 71232 - Side B
Croziers, the staffs carried by bishops and abbots, are meant to identify them symbolically as shepherds of the Christian flock (actual shepherds use wooden sticks with a similar hook to catch straying sheep). ... More
French - Wax Tablet with the Coronation of the Virgin - Walters 71203
Three angels hold a cloth of honor behind the Virgin and two others swing censers at the sides while she is crowned. The scene is placed beneath a canopy of three trefoil arches. The panel is recessed on the re... More
Dante Gabriel Rossetti- Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal - Walters 38419 (crop...
The miniature painted in gouache over a photograph has been attributed to the subject's husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the English poet and leader of the Pre-Raphaelite painters. The frame was probably added ... More
French - Bust of St Louis of Toulouse - Walters 27273
This bust is of stone but has reparations in plaster. The mitre is partly missing. It's authenticity is questioned.
French - Casket with Scenes from Romances - Walters 7314 - Left Side
This leather box was probably used to store important documents, money, or other precious objects. It is decorated with courtship scenes and was originally painted and highlighted with gilding.
French - Casket with Scenes from Romances - Walters 7314 - Top View B
This leather box was probably used to store important documents, money, or other precious objects. It is decorated with courtship scenes and was originally painted and highlighted with gilding.
French - Child's Suit of Armor - Walters 51590
From childhood, sons of noblemen might join in ceremonial occasions for which armor was required. Appearing with adult male relatives signaled dynastic continuity and acceptance of a moral code and responsibili... More
French - Diptych Leaf with Scenes from the Passion of Christ - Walters...
The scenes on this ivory read from bottom to top: the scenes begin at the lower left with the Temptation of Judas, the Payment of Silver, and the Arrest of Christ. The Crucifixion and Deposition occupy the mid... More