Once used as decorations for a reliquary shrine, each enamel plaque represents a biblical prophet: Isaiah, Obadiah, Elisha, and Hosea. Fine gold dots punctuate dark blue backgrounds. Typical of Hildesheim enamels, this detailing creates the illusion that the prophets sit against star-studded twiligh
Saint Symeon the Younger was a stylite saint, an early Christian ascetic who fled the world for the desert and, perched on a column, spent his days fasting and praying. The site of Symeon’s column attracted many pilgrims during and after his lifetime. Medallions like this one, showing Symeon atop hi
After the Crusader conquest of the Holy Land in 1099, Jerusalem experienced a revival of Christian pilgrimage. During the 12th century, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was rebuilt, redecorated, and reconsecrated. With the influx of new pilgrims, especially from Western Europe, lead ampullae (small
These flasks bear the image of Saint Menas, an early martyr of the Christian Church whose shrine was in the desert southwest of Alexandria in Egypt. These flasks were probably used by pilgrims to hold oil taken from the lamp that burned over this saint's tomb. Probably manufactured near the shrine,
This figure is one of only two known surviving fragments of the Reliquary Châsse of Saint-Germain. Fashioned from silver, gold, and precious stones, it was designed to hold the body of the saint. A contract from 1409 gives the names of the commissioned goldsmiths: Jean de Clichy, Gautier du Four, an
The images found on the sides of surviving lead pilgrims' ampullae include scenes relating to the life of Christ, and by extension to the holy sites (loca sancta) where the events took place. Cast into the sides of this ampulla are scenes of Christ's Crucifixion on the front and the Ascension on the
This elegant double-arm cross once contained fragments of four of the most important relics of Christ’s Passion, namely a portion of the True Cross, a piece of Christ’s sudarium (sweat cloth), and fragments of the reed staff and sponge used by Christ’s tormentors to mock him and give him vinegar for
Once used as decorations for a reliquary shrine, each enamel plaque represents a biblical prophet: Isaiah, Obadiah, Elisha, and Hosea. Fine gold dots punctuate dark blue backgrounds. Typical of Hildesheim enamels, this detailing creates the illusion that the prophets sit against star-studded twiligh
Once used as decorations for a reliquary shrine, each enamel plaque represents a biblical prophet: Isaiah, Obadiah, Elisha, and Hosea. Fine gold dots punctuate dark blue backgrounds. Typical of Hildesheim enamels, this detailing creates the illusion that the prophets sit against star-studded twiligh
This precious reliquary, adorned on its front and sides with colored glass, precious stones, and two medallions featuring the enthroned Virgin and Child and an eagle, forms part of a group of closely related objects manufactured in the Upper Rhine region shortly after 1300. The purse shape, with its
This reliquary bust was probably made to house a relic of Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse (1274–97), second son of Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples (1288–1309). Renowned for his works of charity, he was made bishop in 1297 and died shortly after at the age of 23. He was canonized in 1317, and his
Designed to facilitate the display and veneration of ten relics, this sumptuous ostensorium (from the Latin ostendere, meaning "to show") is one of the most unusual reliquaries in the Guelph Treasure. Elements of contemporary Gothic architecture in miniature frame an elaborately decorated liturgical
Details: This Late Gothic monstrance (from the Latin monstrare, "to show") is mentioned in the earliest inventory of Saint Blaise as "a large new monstrance containing relics of Saint Sebastian the martyr." Judging from surviving receipts, the reliquary was made by Werner Korff, a local goldsmith,...
Details: Inscriptions on the back of this object indicate that it served as the repository for a relic believed to be a fragment of the True Cross and that it is thought to have been made for a convent of the Poor Clares, probably in Florence. It is an extraordinary...
In this image, faithful Catholics are touching their rosaries (and other sacramentals) to the relics of the saints. This was a relic exposition by Treasures of the Church, at Saint Benedict's Parish in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA.
This is a photo from an exposition of Treasures of the Church at Saint Benedict's Parish in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. Treasures of the Church is a ministry of evangelization of the Catholic Church. Run by Fr.
Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni)...
