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A Censer
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Censers are liturgical containers swung back and forth on long chains to disperse incense during the celebration of the mass. In this print, Martin Schongauer exploited his early training as a goldsmith to create a detailed reproduction of a life-size censer. The exquisite filigree design of the openwork areas, and the minute figurines of angels holding chains that crumple on the ground and cast slight shadows suggest that Schongauer's Censer could have been a close replica of an existing censer, or a model for a goldsmith.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineA Censer, c. 1480–90. Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491). Engraving; sheet: 26.4 x 21 cm (10 3/8 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1951.429
