Altarpiece of Pellegrino II

The silver relief was endowed by Pellegrino II, the patriarch of Aquileia, around 1200 and adorns today the main altar of the church Santa Maria Assunta.

[1] The altarpiece is divided into four parts: the center consists of a triptych which shows Mary as the Mother of God (Latin mater dei) with the Child Jesus in her lap.

In its lower counterpart Pellegrino II, kneeling at the feet of Mary, can be identified by an accompanying inscription as the donator of the altarpiece.

On the inside of the two frame boards a votive inscription composed of ten Leonine verses runs horizontally across the altarpiece.

[4] According to the art historian Angelo Lipinsky, the altarpiece may have been inspired by Byzantine reliquaries which were decorated by the same typographic technique in the 10th to 12th centuries.

[11] It differs in some technical details though: its plate is made of clay, not silver, and the inscription was created in low relief with (wooden) stamps, not metal punches.