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MEDIEVAL

Collection Info
MEDIEVAL

The museum's significant Medieval and Renaissance holdings have been described as the "best university medieval collection in America" (Charles Little, Metropolitan Museum of Art) and "one of the six best medieval collections overall in America" (Neil Stratford, Keeper Emeritus of Medieval and Later Antiquities, British Museum). Duke University's original Museum of Art was founded with the acquisition of medieval and Renaissance period works from the estate of Ernest Brummer in 1966. Expanded since then, the collection now numbers nearly 90 works from across Europe, ranging in date from the ninth through the fifteenth centuries, with a focus on the Romanesque and Gothic periods. It includes sculptures in stone, bronze, wood, and ivory, significant architectural fragments, stained glass, leather, textiles, and illuminated manuscript pages and a full illuminated book of hours. Visitors are able to explore the Book of Hours online.

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University owns more than 10,000 works of art. As part of its mission, the Nasher Museum created this online database to make its collections accessible to a wide audience. This is an ongoing project, so please check back periodically to browse new entries. Some data may change as a result of ongoing research.

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Impost capital
Italian
8th century–9th century
Marble
1966.2.1
Bifrons Relief of Janus
Italian
c. 1240
Alabaster
1966.51.1
Book of Hours
Workshop of Jean Bourdichon
c. 1490
Tempera, shell gold, and ink on vellum
1993.2.1
Lintel from the Interior of a Byzantine Church
Syrian (?)
late 5th century or early 6th century
Alabaster
2003.1.1
Figure of Christ from a Crucifix
French
late 13th century
Oak
2011.9.1
Christ and the Two Thieves
French
1430–1440
Tempera, burnished gold, and ink on vellum
2010.1.1
Last Judgment
Masters of the Gold Scrolls
c. 1440
Tempera, burnished and liquid gold, and ink on vellum
2010.5.1
The Visitation
Austrian
c. 1350
Stained glass and lead
1978.20.5
Seated Judge or King
French
c. 1270
Marble
1980.2.3
Transenna Panel
Central Italy
c. 800–850 CE
Marble
1966.11.1
Saint Agnes
Italian (?)
14th century
Polychrome and gilding on marble
1966.113.1
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