Worn as a clasp to close a priestly garment, this morse must have been created for an official of the Franciscan order. Despite their vows of poverty, Franciscans often possessed lavish liturgical vestments. Displaying the moment that Francis received the stigmata (marks on the body corresponding to Jesus’ crucifixion wounds), the nocturnal setting distinguishes this scene and heightens its drama.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Morse with Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata
Date:ca. 1300–1350
Geography:Made in Tuscany, Italy
Culture:Italian
Medium:Gilded copper with translucent and champlevé enamel
Dimensions:Overall: 4 1/4 x 4 5/16 x 3/8 in. (10.8 x 10.9 x 0.9 cm)
Classification:Enamels-Basse taille
Credit Line:Gift of Georges and Edna Seligmann, in memory of his father, the art collector Simon Seligmann, and his brother, René, 1979
Accession Number:1979.498.2
Victor Gay, Paris; Simon Seligmann, Paris; by descent, Georges and Edna Seligmann, New York (until 1979)
New York. The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Medieval Art from Private Collections," October 30, 1968–March 30, 1969.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Choirs of Angels: Painting in Italian Choir Books, 1300-1500," November 25, 2008–April 12, 2009.
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts. "Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy," October 31, 2014–January 25, 2015.
Gómez-Moreno, Carmen. Medieval Art from Private Collections: A Special Exhibition at The Cloisters, October 30, 1968 through January 5, 1969. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1968. no. 167.
Kleinbauer, Walter Eugene. "Recent Major Acquisitions of Medieval Art by American Museums." Gesta 19, no. 1 (1980). p. 74, fig. 24.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notable Acquisitions, 1979-1980 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1980). pp. 23–24.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. no. 38, p. 353.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. pp. 124–25, pl. 114.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. no. 39, p. 387.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 171, pp. 142–43.
Kennedy, Trinita, ed. Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy. Nashville: Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 2014. no. 19, pp. 132–133.
Kennedy, Trinita. "Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy." In Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trinita Kennedy. Nashville: Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 2014. no. 19, p. 4.
Neff, Amy. "Painting, Devotion, and the Franciscans." In Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trinita Kennedy. Nashville: Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 2014. no. 19, pp. 37, 43.
Robson, Janet. "The Changing Imagery of Saint Francis in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi." In Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trinita Kennedy. Nashville: Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 2014. no. 19, p. 25.
Tammen, Silke. "Radiance and Image on the Breast: Seeing Medieval Jewellery." In Medieval Art at the Intersection of Visuality and Material Culture: Studies in the 'Semantics of Vision', edited by Raphaèle Preisinger. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2021. pp. 164–68, fig. 6.2.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
