Copper-gilt with champlevé and cloisonné enamel, possibly Cologne, Germany, ca.1180-1200

Champleve and cloisonne enamel on copper- gilt. Three rows of arches, each one containing a trefoil in another colour. Colours, yellow, blue and white. Perhaps from the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne.

Dr W.L. Hildburgh Bequest

Hildburgh Bequest

HOLY RELICS

The bones, clothing or possessions associated with Christ and the saints were known as relics. In the Middle Ages and later they were credited with miraculous powers and much venerated. They were kept in secure 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 sometimes wrapped in a parchment tag inscribed with the name of the saint.

Reliquaries were made in many forms. Some are modelled in the shape of the relic itself but most are box-shaped or of architectural form. The costliest are of gold and silver, embellished with precious stones, though many are of gilded and enamelled copper, decorated with scenes from the life of the saint. Cathedrals and major churches accumulated large collections of reliquaries, which were formally displayed near the high altar on major feast-days. Most of those in museum collections no longer contain their relics.

The elaborate floral motifs on this plaque closely resemble some of the decoration on the Three Kings shrine in Cologne Cathedral. The shrine was made between 1181 and 1220 and is one of the largest and most splendid to survive from the Middle Ages.

M.482-1956