117 / 502

Crosier Head, Île-de-France

Victoria and Albert Museum

A crosier is the staff carried by a bishop or abbot, shaped like a shepherd's crook to symbolize the pastoral care of the faithful. Its curved head was often richly carved or cast, with foliage, animals or religious scenes in the volute.

The Île-de-France, the region around Paris, was the heartland of Gothic art, and its workshops produced some of the finest ivory and metalwork of the Middle Ages.


Polycam
Medieval
Victoria and Albert Museum
Île-de-France, France
Liturgical object