Eagle Vase
Type:
Vases,
Liturgical objects
Date:
before 1147 (for the mount)
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Dimensions:
43.1 × 27 cm
Description:
Abbot Suger (r. 1122–51) had an ancient Egyptian or Roman porphyry vase transformed into the so-called Eagle Vase, which functioned as a liturgical chalice for the altar in the abbey church of Saint-Denis. An inscription on the neck of the new eagle-shaped mount reads, "Inclu[di] gemmis lapis iste mere[t]ur et auro / Marmor erat sed in his marmore carior est" (This stone deserves to be set in gems and gold / It was marble but mounted thus it is more precious than marble). Although porphyry is not, in fact, a type of marble, the sentiment is clear: the new mount transforms and elevates the antique vase.
Suger had other ancient and early medieval objects set in twelfth-century mounts, including the so-called Eleanor Vase (see separate entry) and the Sardonyx Chalice (see link below).
Suger had other ancient and early medieval objects set in twelfth-century mounts, including the so-called Eleanor Vase (see separate entry) and the Sardonyx Chalice (see link below).
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read more about the Eagle Vase on the website of the Louvre.
• Read about the Sardonyx Chalice on the website of the National Gallery of Art.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
