Ceiling Tile (socarrat) with Design of a Rampant Bull (detail), second half of the 15th century; Spanish, associated with Mudéjar; earthenware with red manganese oxide and black iron oxide pigments over a white slip; 14 1/4 x 17 5/16 x 1 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 35:1939
The period between AD 500 and 1500, commonly called the Middle Ages in Europe, was marked by significant shifts in political, religious, and trade networks, resulting in artisans having greater access to materials and techniques.
A new display of works from the Museum’s permanent collection explores the interconnectivity of artistic production during this period of dramatic growth. Global Connections brings together 55 artworks that span more than 1,000 years and come from across the globe—including North America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Global Connections explores a range of narratives that demonstrate how artists and patrons were responding to shifts in global commerce. For example, Persian artists developed ceramic techniques to mimic Chinese porcelain and transmitted this knowledge across the Islamic world from Iran to present-day Spain. Cities in France and Belgium emerged as major artistic centers as a result of the import of such materials as gold, ivory, and alum from the ports of North Africa. The installation includes familiar collection works, such as the Museum’s astounding French gold arm reliquary, along with other works that have not been on display before, including a collection of brass weights used to measure gold dust by the Akan people of Ghana.
The installation also marks one of the first times that artworks from the Americas have been included in a display addressing the connections across global production from this period. Mayan and Mixtec hardstone jewelry are displayed alongside gold ear pendants from Korea and decorated fibulae from France in a section dedicated to personal ornament in the years between 500 and 900 AD. The production of high-quality figural ceramics is also explored in a grouping of works from the Maya, Huastec, and Zapotec peoples of present-day Mexico.
Global Connections was curated by Maggie Crosland, a former Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow at the Museum. It is now on view in Gallery 237.
Reliquary Arm, 1100–1150; French; wood and sheet gold; 21 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 75:1949
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Vessel in the Form of a Seated Figure, 300–600; Zapotec, Mexico; ceramic with pigment; 17 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 10 x 8 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Morton D. May 1167:1983
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Container, 1250–1300; French; enamel, copper alloy, and gilding; 5 1/16 x 5 13/16 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 56:1949
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follower of Rogier van der Weyden, Netherlandish, c.1399–1464; Virgin and Child, 1470–75; oil on panel; 23 5/8 x 16 3/8 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leicester B. Faust 155:1971
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Ceiling Tile (socarrat) with Design of a Rampant Bull, second half of the 15th century; Spanish, associated with Mudéjar; earthenware with red manganese oxide and black iron oxide pigments over a white slip; 14 1/4 x 17 5/16 x 1 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 35:1939
