reliquary
Reliquary
1580-1600 (made)
1580-1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The bones and possessions associated with Christ and the saints are known as relics. In the Middle Ages and later they were believed to have miraculous powers and were greatly venerated.
The relics were kept in special containers, called reliquaries, whose costly materials and beautiful workmanship reflected the importance of their contents. The relics themselves are occasionally visible, set beneath crystal windows and wrapped in a parchment tag with the name of the saint. Cathedrals and major churches accumulated reliquaries and displayed them on or near the high altar on major holy days.
Each side of this reliquary has 36 crystal-covered recesses for relics. A number of these still contain bones, some with name tags in 17th-century writing, including ones for Sts Catherine, Lucy, Paul and Isabel. Other recesses contain cloth fragments and engraved portraits of saints.
The relics were kept in special containers, called reliquaries, whose costly materials and beautiful workmanship reflected the importance of their contents. The relics themselves are occasionally visible, set beneath crystal windows and wrapped in a parchment tag with the name of the saint. Cathedrals and major churches accumulated reliquaries and displayed them on or near the high altar on major holy days.
Each side of this reliquary has 36 crystal-covered recesses for relics. A number of these still contain bones, some with name tags in 17th-century writing, including ones for Sts Catherine, Lucy, Paul and Isabel. Other recesses contain cloth fragments and engraved portraits of saints.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | reliquary (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, gilding |
| Brief description | Silver, partly gilded, and rock crystal, with textiles, gold leaf, parchment and bone; the foot missing; Spain (town mark of Calatayud), 1580-1600 |
| Physical description | Two rectangular panels each with 36 oval containers for relics set back to back in a frame of openwork ornament of C-scrolls and cherubs interspersed with urn-shaped finials. At the top is a double-sided oval container topped by a gilded cross; gilded figures of St John the Evangelist (holding chalice and right hand raised in a gesture of blessing) and Mary Magdalene (with long hair and hands clasped in prayer) at either end. There are two holes at the bottom of each frame to accommodate a foot, now lost. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | FRONT:
Cartouche at top below cross contains painted miniature of bishop with white mitre and crozier, a fragment of white substance (? bone) tied with string and a fragment of woven cloth.
First row, left to right, cartouches 1 to 6:
1. Cartouche lined with woven textile with ?leaf pattern and silver thread, otherwise empty.
2. Cartouche lined with dark blue textile, two fragments of ?bone and strip of paper with 'Domingo' in brown ink.
3. Engraved and coloured print, early s. xix?, inscription at base: 'S Philippi Neri'.
4. Cartouche lined with gold foil, otherwise empty.
5. Cartouche lined with dark blue textile; one fragment of ?bone and strip of paper: 'S. catherina'.
6. Cartouche lined with woven textile with gold thread, fragment of ?bone and strip of paper, 'S Juan Bapti/ta'.
Second row, left to right, cartouches 7 to 12:
7. Cartouche lined with dark blue textile; 6 fragments of ?bone of different sizes and powdered fragments, on a strip of paper: ? 'mirabla'.
8. Engraved and coloured print, early s. xix?, inscription at base: 'M di Füffragio'.
9. ?originally painted miniature but too deteriorated to identify subject. Blue paint, with central area severely deteriorated.
10. Cartouche lined with woven textile with flower pattern and silver thread, otherwise empty.
11. Cartouche lined with woven blue textile, on which is a white section of textile and two fragments of ?bone; strip of paper, 'S Agusti[n]'.
12. Cartouche lined with gold foil, otherwise empty.
Third row, left to right, cartouches 13 to 18:
13. Cartouche lined with woven blue textile, fragment of ?bone, strip of paper or parchment, no apparent inscription.
14. Cartouche lined with white-ish textile with gold thread, otherwise empty.
15. Cartouche lined with dark blue textile, fragment of ?bone visible under upper rim of frame; strip of paper, '[S] esteban'.
16. Engraved and coloured print, early s. xix?, inscription at base: 'Mater Do[lorosa]'.
17. Cartouche lined with pinkish textile, fragment of ?bone; strip of paper: 'ines'.
18: Cartouche lined with red textile, two small fragments of ?bone and other tiny fragments; strip of paper: 'S. pablo'.
Fourth row, left to right, cartouches 19 to 24:
19. Cartouche lined with white textile with gold thread, fragment of bone; strip of paper: 'S. Bicente'.
20. Cartouche lined with red textile, fragment of bone and tiny fragments; strip of paper: 'S. Isabel'.
21. Cartouche lined with?black textile, fragment of ?bone; strip of paper: 'S: Gero'.
22. Engraved and coloured print, early s. xix?, depicting Christ holding cross; inscription at base no longer visible as beneath cartouche frame.
23. Cartouche lined with white textile with gold thread, fragment of ?bone; strip of paper: 'Sta Barbara' (in later cursive).
24. Cartouche lined with dark blue textile, fragment of porous ?bone; strip of paper: 'Dorotea'.
Fifth row, left to right, cartouches 25 to 30:
25. Cartouche lined with white textile, fragment of ?bone; strip of paper: 'S: polonia'.
26. Cartouche lined with white textile with pale green woven leaf pattern and silver threads, fragment of ?bone; strip of paper: 'Catalina'.
27. Cartouche lined with white textile, large fragment of white ?bone; strip of paper behind mostly obscuring inscription, 'S. Ra[phael?]'.
28. Cartouche lined with pale blue fabric with gold thread, small fragment of ?bone; strip of paper, 'S Tomas'.
29. Cartouche lined with white fabric with gold threads, large fragment of ?bone; strip of paper, 'Lorenzo'.
30. Cartouche lined with fabric woven with green, white and gold threads in a ?flower pattern, fragment of ?bone; strip of paper: 'snanselm' [ie. St Anselm].
Sixth row, left to right, cartouches 31 to 36:
31. Cartouche lined with white fabric with gold threads, ?leaf pattern, two fragments of ?bone lodged under upper section of frame; strip of paper, 'Pedro. a'.
32. Cartouche lined with fabric woven with green, white and gold threads in a ?flower pattern, large fragment of ?bone, no identifying strip of paper.
33. Cartouche lined with white fabric with woven ?leaf pattern in yellow and pale green, two white fragments of ?bone (one very small); strip of paper, 'S. marcial'.
34. Cartouche lined with white fabric, two small fragments of ?bone; strip of paper: 'maria' (in later cursive).
35. Cartouche lined with red fabric, crumbled fragments of ?bone; no identifying inscription.
36. Cartouche lined with paper or parchment with ?painted circular design with a cross in the centre, fragment of ?bone on top. No identifying inscription.
BACK:
Cartouche at top below cross at back lined with textile with yellow and green woven leaf pattern and silver thread.
First row, left to right, cartouches 1 to 6:
1. Cartouche lined with woven fabric, yellow and green leaf pattern and blue flower.
2. Cartouche lined with woven fabric, white threads ?painted with gold pattern.
3. Cartouche lined with woven fabric, white and gold threads.
4. Cartouche lined with gold foil with areas of blue/green paint.
5. Cartouche lined with red fabric, a cutting from a coloured print inserted in the centre.
6. Cartouche lined with white fabric with areas embroidered in blue and gold.
Second row, left to right, cartouches 7 to 12:
7. Cartouche lined with fabric, flower pattern, white, silver, green, yellow and brown threads.
8. Cartouche lined with blue fabric, a cutting from a coloured print inserted in centre.
9. Cartouche lined with blue fabric, two fragments of bone.
10. Cartouche lined with red fabric.
11. Cartouche lined with gold foil with areas of blue/green paint.
12. Cartouche lined with white fabric, silver, yellow and green flower pattern.
Third row, left to right, cartouches 13 to 18:
13. Cartouche lined with white and silver fabric.
14. Cartouche lined with red fabric.
15. Cartouche lined with red fabric, a sliver of ?bone; strip of paper, 'S lucia'.
16. Cartouche lined with red fabric, strip of paper, 'abito de s. clara'.
17. Cartouche lined with white and silver fabric.
18. Cartouche lined with white and gold fabric.
Fourth row, left to right, cartouches 19 to 24:
19. Cartouche lined with red fabric.
20. Cartouche lined with coloured print of a male saint in a black robe, no attribute visible; identifying inscription at base not visible.
21. Cartouche lined with red fabric; strip of paper, '[S] Anton.'
22. Cartouche lined with coloured print, inscription '[S] Caietan'.
23. Cartouche lined with blue fabric, at bottom: a large fragment of ?bone; above: strip of paper, torn in two sections, with inscription, illegible.
24. Cartouche lined with woven fabric, white, yellow and green threads and areas of gold paint.
Fifth row, left to right, cartouches 25 to 30:
25. Cartouche lined with woven red fabric, traces of ?inscription in black ink.
26. Cartouche lined with fabric.
27. Cartouche lined with white fabric, yellow threads.
28. Cartouche lined with fabric with flower and leaf pattern in green, yellow, brown, pink and silver threads.
29. Cartouche lined with red fabric with fragment of ?bone with white threads attached.
30. Cartouche lined with fabric with gold and silver, yellow, red and pink threads.
Sixth row, left to right, cartouches 31 to 36:
31. Cartouche lined with fabric.
32. Cartouche lined with fabric.
33. Cartouche lined with blue fabric, paper strip with illegible inscription.
34. Cartouche lined with red fabric, traces of ?inscription in black ink.
35. Cartouche lined with soiled red fabric.
36. Cartouche lined with fabric. |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Dr W.L. Hildburgh Bequest |
| Object history | Hildburgh Bequest. Aquired in San Sebastian 1922. No obvious way that the two panels could be opened to insert relics. Frame is a series of cast sections joined together. The two figures sit on top of columns; the rectangular cast frieze round the edge of the panels has been cut away and these two columns soldered in - this is apparent from the back. Some gilded pins between the cartouches are under the edge of the frame on the back of the reliquary. The frame on the back of the reliquary has been reinforced at both lower corners by two later strips of silver, crudely cut. Marked on the left side of the back panel: CAL in a rectangular punch. |
| Historical context | Relics are the mortal remains and possessions associated with Christ and the saints. In the Middle Ages and later they were believed to have miraculous powers and were greatly venerated. Strands of hair, bones and cloth, sometimes soaked with the blood of the saint, were preserved in special containers called reliquaries. These were made in many forms, in materials that were (or appeared to be) costly in order to honour contents that were humble-looking, but in fact more precious. The ornament which embellished reliquaries was not always religious, and the naked children, dragons and vases which frame the relics in this example recall Classical Roman motifs. However, it was important to identify the saints whose relics were preserved within, and several compartments in this reliquary survive with their original relics together with their original labels. The remaining compartments have later replacement engraved portraits of saints or patterned textiles. This reliquary, which has windows for 36 relics on both sides, would originally have had a foot. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The bones and possessions associated with Christ and the saints are known as relics. In the Middle Ages and later they were believed to have miraculous powers and were greatly venerated. The relics were kept in special containers, called reliquaries, whose costly materials and beautiful workmanship reflected the importance of their contents. The relics themselves are occasionally visible, set beneath crystal windows and wrapped in a parchment tag with the name of the saint. Cathedrals and major churches accumulated reliquaries and displayed them on or near the high altar on major holy days. Each side of this reliquary has 36 crystal-covered recesses for relics. A number of these still contain bones, some with name tags in 17th-century writing, including ones for Sts Catherine, Lucy, Paul and Isabel. Other recesses contain cloth fragments and engraved portraits of saints. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.153-1956 |
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| Record created | February 18, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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