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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 Gervasius, were two pairs of twin brothers who were invoked for their healing of the sick. The statues are from the hospital complex at Abbeville, built between 1484 and 1492, where they may have stood in niches at the entrance to the church.
The vigorous modeling and realistic details- as in the variety in their facial expressions- are made more vivid by the use of color and give credibility to the saints' humanity. Their size, relative to the sick at their feet, conveys their superhuman powers, while the clerical garments lend them authority. The stocky proportions are typical of French sculpture of the late 15th century.
Saint Cosmas, gloves in hand, heals a man with a bloated stomach. It is likely that he originally held a vessel in his left hand. Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers who, according to legend, practiced as doctors in Cilicia in Asia Minor. They are said to have refused all payment in order to convert their patients. They were martyred in the 3rd century and are regarded as patrons of doctors and surgeons. See 27. 282, 284, 285.
French
H: 27 9/16 x W: 11 7/16 x D: 8 3/4 in. (70 x 29 x 22.3 cm)
medium: limestone with traces of paint and gilding
style: Gothic
culture: French
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
This small triptych icon is fitted within a silver frame and was meant to be worn on the chest as a pendant. The outside of the frame is engraved with floral ornament and has a small relief Crucifix in the middle. In the top register on the inside, the four evangelists surround an image of the Holy Trinity. On their two sides is the Annunciation. The scenes that follow are, from left to right, the Nativity, Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Baptism, Transfiguration, Raising of Lazarus, Entry into Jerusalem, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, Dormition of the Virgin, and Birth of the Virgin. These are framed by an image of the Tree of Jesse: Jesse, the father of King David, is shown reclining at it the bottom; from him spring branches that contain medallions with images of the Old Testament ancestors of Christ.
Orthodox Eastern
H: 5 1/2 x W: 5 1/8 x D: 13/16 in. (14 x 13 x 2 cm)
medium: boxwood, silver
style: Post-Byzantine
culture: Orthodox Eastern
dynasty: Ottoman Dynasty
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Three Amazons on this black-figure lekythos face right, and appear to march one after the other. Their skin is white, but their facial features, eroded or rubbed away, are indistinguishable. Each wears a helmet, holds a long spear and has a horizontal quiver. The middle figure holds both hands near her waist; the other two have one hand raised.
Amazons are first mentioned in the "Iliad" (6.186) as allies of the Trojans; later authors emphasize their fearlessness and their status as foreigners. They were introduced on Attic vases in the early 6th century BC, and quickly became a popular subject. Early black-figure depictions of Amazons resemble Greek warriors, with one notable difference-their white skin color, which identifies them as "women." In red-figure vases, the Amazons acquire more feminine features and bodies, and their foreigness is emphasized by their attire: Scythian or Thracian clothing and subsequently Persian garb.
In some places in Greece, Amazons were the object of cult. Jennifer Larson (1995, 111-16) has suggested that despite the fact that they were considered hostile to the Greeks, their complete otherness from the Greek way of life also gave them protective powers and entitled them to be worshiped as heroines.
Greek
H: 8 1/16 x Diam: 2 3/8 in. (20.5 x 6 cm)
medium: terracotta, wheel made; black figure with white paint
style: Attic
culture: Greek
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
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The presentation scene on this seal depicts a seated, bearded deity in horned headdress and flounced robe. An interceding goddess leads a worshipper, bald in a long robe, by the hand. She is posed with one arm raised, and she also wears a flounced robe and horned headdress. An inverted crescent is suspended in the field between them. Finally, a cuneiform inscription in three registers is incorporated into the scene.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.
Neo-Sumerian
Diam: 1/2 in. (1.3 cm)
medium: hematite
culture: Neo-Sumerian
Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.
Continuing a practice initiated by his father, Alexander III, Tsar Nicholas II presented this egg to his mother, the dowager empress Marie Fedorovna, on Easter 1901. The egg opens to reveal as a surprise a miniature gold replica of the palace at Gatchina, located 30 miles southwest of St. Petersburg. Built for Count Grigorii Orlov, the palace was acquired by Tsar Paul I and served as the winter residence for Alexander III and Marie Fedorovna.
Fabergé's revival of 18th-century enameling techniques, including the application of multiple layers of translucent enamel over "guilloché," or mechanically engraved gold, is demonstrated in the shell of the egg. So meticulously did Fabergé's workmaster, Mikhail Perkhin, execute the palace that one can discern such details as cannons, a flag, a statue of Paul I (1754-1801), and elements of the landscape, including parterres and trees.
H: 5 x W: 3 9/16 in. (12.7 x 9.1 cm)
medium: gold, "en plein" enamel, silver-gilding, portrait diamonds, rock crystal, and seed pearls
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Coalfield Development acquired this dilapidated structure in 2010. This would be the 1st major site for Coalfield's on-the-job training crews.