The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy at The Met Cloisters

24 juillet 2019

The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy at The Met Cloisters

Jewish ceremonial wedding ring, from the Colmar Treasure, ca. 1300–before 1348. Gold, opaque and translucent enamel, 1 3/8 x 7/8 in. (3.5 x 2.3 cm). Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY.

For more than 500 years, a small cache of jewelry and coins lay hidden within the walls of a house in Colmar, France. Secreted there in the 14th century and discovered in 1863, the Colmar Treasure—now in the collection of the Musée de Cluny, Paris—comprises rings of sapphire, ruby, garnet, and turquoise; jeweled and fanciful brooches; a delicate enameled belt; gilded buttons; and more than 300 coins. The precious possessions of a single family, the inscription mazel tov on one ring links the hoard to Colmar’s once-thriving Jewish community, who were brutally scapegoated and put to death when the Plague struck the region with devastating ferocity in 1348–49. The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy, opening July 22 at The Met Cloisters, will point to both legacy and loss, underscoring the prominence of, and perils faced by, the Jewish minority community in the tumultuous 14th century.

Consisting of objects that are small in scale and relatively few in number, the Colmar Treasure will be displayed alongside related works from The Cloisters Collection, The Jewish Theological Seminary, the Bibliothèque municipale in Colmar, and distinguished private collections in the United States. In the evocative setting of The Met Cloisters—a museum whose very name seems to proclaim a uniquely Christian world—this exhibition will offer a poignant tribute to Jewish artistic heritage and its role in art and society in medieval Europe.

The exhibition is made possible by the Michel David-Weill Fund.

Additional support is provided by the David Berg Foundation.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue for general readers. Published by Scala Arts Publishing in Association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book will be available in The Met Store ($24.95).

The exhibition was organized by Barbara Drake Boehm, the Paul and Jill Ruddock Senior Curator, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters.

The Met Cloisters, Ground Floor, Gallery 10. July 22, 2019–January 12, 2020.

Jeweled brooch, from the Colmar Treasure, second quarter 14th century. Gilded silver, sapphires, rubies, garnets and pearls, 1 7/16 × 1 7/16 in. (3.7 × 3.7 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20672). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY.

Onyx ring, second half of 13th–early 14th century, from the Colmar Treasure. Gold and onyx, 7/8 × 3/4 in. (2.3 × 2 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20668). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge; © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Sapphire ring, second quarter of 14th century, from the Colmar Treasure. Gold and Ceylon sapphire, 7/8 × 13/16 in. (2.3 × 2 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20667). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Ring with Snarling Leopard or Lion, from the Colmar Treasure, 13th century, France (?). Silver, with traces of gilding, 13/16 × 13/16 in. (2.1 × 2 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20665). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Belt Elements, from the Colmar Treasure, ca. 1340. Gilded silver, enamel, silk fragments. Overall: 31 1/2 in. (80 cm). Other (Plaquettes): 5/16 × 1 1/2 in. (0.8 × 3.8 cm). Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20673). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Fastener with Falconer on Horseback, from the Colmar Treasure, first quarter 14th century, Paris, France (?). Gilded silver, traces of enamel, 7/8 × 7/8 in. (2.3 × 2.2 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20671). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Belt Hook with Dog, from the Colmar Treasure, first half 14th century. Gilded silver, 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20676). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Key, from the Colmar Treasure, first half of 14th century, Silver, 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20675). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge; © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Florin of Louis of Hungary, from the Colmar Treasure, 1342–before 1349. Gold, 0.127oz. (3.59g), Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Paris (Cl.20682a). Photo: Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge; © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Attributed to Jean Le Noir (French, active 1331–75) , and Workshop, The Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy, before 1349, Paris, France. Tempera, grisaille, ink, and gold on vellum, The Cloisters Collection, 1969, 69.86. © 2000–2019 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sebastian Münster (German, Ingelheim 1488–1552 Basel), La cosmographie universelle de tout le monde, volume 1, 1575, François de Belleforest (Editor), Nicolas Chesneau , Paris (Publisher), Illustrations: woodcut, 13 3/8 x 9 7/16 x 3 3/4 in. (34 x 24 x 9.5 cm),Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1943, 43.38.1. © 2000–2019 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Coffret (Minnekästchen), ca. 1325–50, Upper Rhineland, Germany. Oak, inlay, and tempera; wrought-iron mounts, 4 3/4 x 10 3/4 x 6 1/2in. (12.1 x 27.3 x 16.5cm), Rogers Fund and The Cloisters Collection, by exchange, 1950, 50.141. © 2000–2019 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Purse, early 14th century, French, Silk, linen, gold leaf, Overall: 5 1/2 x 6in. (14 x 15.2cm), Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964, 64.101.1364. © 2000–2019 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.