National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: Chalice of the Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis

Overview

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Inscription

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Provenance

Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, France, from 1137/1140 to 1791;[1] Cabinet National des Médailles et Antiques, Paris, from 30 September 1791 to 16 February 1804;[2] acquired 1804 by Charles Towneley [1737-1805], London; in the Towneley family, London, until possibly 1920. (Harry Harding, London), in 1920; (Goldschmidt Galleries, New York), by 1921; purchased 20 March 1922 by Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, after purchase by funds of the Estate; gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] Abbot Suger did not disclose the provenance of his sardonyx cup. It may have been brought to Saint-Denis by dealers who flocked there in great numbers, or it may have been a pawn redeemed by a wealthy lender of the Jewish community that had settled in Saint-Denis and Paris (Panofsky, Erwin, Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis and Its Art Treasures, 1946, 2nd ed., Princeton, 1979, 55.)

[2] In fulfillment of the law ordering the nationalization of the monastic orders, on 30 September 1791 the chalice was taken away from Saint-Denis and deposited at the Cabinet National des Médailles et Antiques. On the night of 16-17 February 1804, it was stolen from the Cabinet National, forced into a plaster bust of Laocoön, and smuggled, presumably by way of Holland, to England, which was then at war with France.

Exhibition History

1967
Treasures from Medieval France, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967, 70-71, color repro.
1979
[Loan in conjunction with symposium on Byzantine Liturgy], Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., 1979. [published incorrectly in Systematic Catalogue as 1978]
1981
The Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis in the Time of Abbot Suger (1125-1151), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981, 108-111.
1991
Le Trésor de Saint-Denis, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1991, no. 28, repro. 175.
1997
The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era A.D. 843-1261, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997, no. 296, repro.

Bibliography

1625
Doublet, Dom Jacques. Histoire de l'Abbaye Royale de Saint Denys en France. Paris, 1625.
1641
Duchesne, François. Historia Francorum. Vol. 4. Paris, 1641.
1706
Félibien, Michael. Histoire de l'abbaye royale de Saint-Denys en France. 1706. Reprint Paris, 1976, recueil de pièces justificatives, part 2, 172-187.
1867
Lecoy de la Marche, A. Oeuvres complètes de Suger. Paris, 1867.
1877
Bouquet, Martin. Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France. Vol. 12. Paris, 1781. 2d ed., Paris, 1877.
1883
Rohault de Fleury, Charles. La Messe. Etudes archéologiques sur ses monuments. 8 vols. Paris, 1883-1889, 4:123-124, pl. 309.
1901
Omont, Henri. Inventaire du trésor de Saint-Denis en 1505 et 1739. Paris, 1901.
1910
Guibert, Joseph. Les dessins du cabinet de Peiresc au Cabinet des Estampes de la Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris, 1910: 27-28, 33-35, 39, 41-43, 46, pl. III.
1915
Conway, Sir W. Martin. "The Abbey of Saint-Denis and its Ancient Treasures." Archaeologia or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity 66 (1915): 103-158, pl. 16.
1922
Rosenberg, Marc. Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen. 3d ed. 4 vols. Frankfurt-am-Main, 1922-1928: 4:311-312.
1923
Ricci, Seymour de. "Un calice du trésor de Saint-Denis." Académie des inscriptions et Belles-Lettres: Comptes Rendus des séances de l'année Paris (1923): 335-339.
1926
Rosenberg, Marc. "Ein wiedergefundener Kelch." Festschrift zum sechzigsten Geburtstag von Paul Clemen. Bonn, 1926: 209-217.
1932
Braun, Joseph, S.J. Das Christliche Altargerät in seinem Sein und in seiner Entwicklung. Munich, 1932: 46-47, pl. 3, fig. 8.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 9.
1946
Panofsky, Erwin. Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis and its Art Treasures. Princeton, 1946. 2d ed. Edited by Gerda Panofsky-Soergel. Princeton, 1979.
1949
Seymour, Charles. Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1949: 10, 171, note 1, repro. 27.
1952
Christensen, Erwin O. Objects of Medieval Art from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1952: 6-7.
1957
Guth, Paul. "Le trésor fabuleux des rois mages." Connaissance des arts 70 (December 1957): 147.
1957
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): 1, pl. 1
1960
Revel, J. F. "Un problème controversé: l'exil des oeuvres d'art." Connaisance des arts 96 (February 1960): 42-43, color pl.
1965
Crosby, Sumner McKnight. "The Creative Environment." Ventures, Magazine of the Yale Graduate School 5, no. 2 (1965): 10-15.
1967
Treasures from Medieval France. Exh. cat. Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967: 70-71, color repro.
1967
Wentzel, Hans. "Abseitige Trouvaillen an Goldschmied." Studien zur Buchmalerei und Goldschmiedekunst des Mittelalters. Fest. K.H. Usener. Marburg-an-der-Lahn, 1967: 65-78, especially 74-75, figs. 14-15.
1969
von Euw, Anton. In Fillitz, Hermann. Das Mittelalter I. Propyläen Kunstgeschichte. Vol. 5. Berlin, 1969: 256.
1971
Frisch, Teresa G. "Gothic Art 1140 -c. 1450." Sources and Documents in the History of Art. Ed. by H. W. Janson. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1971: 11.
1972
Lasko, Peter. Ars Sacra. Pelican History of Art. Baltimore, 1972: 227.
1973
Montesquiou-Fezensac, Blaise de, and Gabrielle Gaborit-Chopin. Le Trésor de Saint-Denis, Inventaire de 1634. Paris, 1973: 38, 57-58, 164-165.
1975
Verdier, Philippe. "Réflexions sur l'esthétique de Suger." Etudes de civilisation médiévale: Mélanges offerts à Edmond-René Labande. Poitiers, 1975: 699-709, 700-702, figs. 1, 2.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 36, color repro.
1976
Alsop, Joseph. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. Bollingen series 35, no. 27. New York, 1976: 57.
1977
Montesquiou-Fezensac, Blaise de, and Gabrielle Gaborit-Chopin. Le Trésor de Saint-Denis. Document divers. Paris, 1977: 177-181.
1977
Montesquiou-Fezensac, Blaise de, and Gabrielle Gaborit-Chopin. Le Trésor de Saint-Denis. Planches et notices. Paris, 1977: 57-59, pls. 41-43.
1981
The Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis in the Time of Abbot Suger (1125-1151). Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981: 108-111.
1983
Brenk, B. "Suger Spolien." Arte Medievale 1 (1983): 107.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 34, color repro. 35.
1990
Verdier, Philippe. "The Chalice of Abbot Suger." Studies in the History of Art 24 (1990): 9-29.
1991
Le Trésor de Saint-Denis. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1991: no. 28, repro. 175.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 196, color repro.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 308, repro.
1993
Distelberger, Rudolf, Alison Luchs, Philippe Verdier, and Timonthy H. Wilson. Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1993: 4-12, color fig. 4.
1997
Richler, Martha. National Gallery of Art, Washington: A World of Art. London, 1997: 18, color fig. 8.
1998
Pennanen, Valerie Hutchinson. "Communion." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, ed. Helene E. Roberts. 2 vol. Chicago and London, 1998: 1:180-181, 184,186, repro.
2000
National Gallery of Art Special Issue. Connaissance des Arts. Paris, 2000: repro. 59, 62.
2005
Honour, Hugh and John Fleming. A World History of Art. 7th ed. New York, 2005: 377, color fig. 9.37.
2010
Gopnik, Blake. "Oldest Object on Display--National Gallery of Art." The Washington Post (October 3, 2010): R9, repro.

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