Frame with Winged Bull of Saint Luke on the back (mid-1300s): Art, History and Details

Frame with Winged Bull of Saint Luke on the back (mid-1300s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This small-scale Byzantine icon depicts a half-length figure of the Virgin holding the Christ child. When the icon was mounted in its present frame by a German artist in the 14th century, it was considered to be an authentic portrait painted by Saint Luke. This claim, made in an inscription on the frame, is further emphasized by the ox, Saint Luke’s symbol, engraved on the frame’s reverse.

Object facts

• Title: Frame with Winged Bull of Saint Luke on the back
• Date: mid-1300s
• Culture: Germany, Aachen, Byzantine period, 14th century
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: gilt silver
• Dimensions: Overall: 6.8 x 6.3 x 1.6 cm (2 11/16 x 2 1/2 x 5/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1951.445.2

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.