Reliquary Monstrance of St. John the Baptist in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 2022

Title: Reliquary monstrance of St. John the Baptist

Maker: Base by C. C.

Date: ca. 1640, with 18th century additions

Culture: Italian, probably Florence

Medium: Silver gilt

Dimensions: Overall: 36 × 17 1/2 × 13 in. (91.4 × 44.5 × 33 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1949

Accession Number: 49.60.12


The inscription on the banderoles held by the two angels flanking the central shaft reads, IOANNE BAPTISTA/NON SURREXIT MAIOR ("There has risen no one greater than John the Baptist" - Matt. 11:11). The other angels hold symbols of the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist. The relief at the bottom shows his beheading.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/200617