The Reliquary of Saint Eustace is a medieval silver and wooden holy container in the shape of
Saint Eustace's head that once formed part of
Basel Minster's treasury. The
treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
was acquired by the
Canton of Basel
Basel was a canton of Switzerland that was in existence between 1501 and 1833, when it was split into the two half-cantons of Basel-City and Basel-Country.
Background
Before the Protestant Reformation, Basel was ruled by prince-bishops (see ...
in 1836 and shortly afterwards sold at auction to collectors and museums across Europe. The reliquary was later bought by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
British Museum Highlights
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History
For centuries the reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
belonged to the cathedral treasury
A church treasure is the collection of historical art treasures belonging to a church, usually a monastery (monastery treasure), abbey, cathedral. Such "treasure" is usually held and displayed in the church's treasury or in a diocesan museum. Hist ...
of Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
in Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where it was first recorded in 1477. It was sold, along with the rest of the treasury, in 1836, shortly after their acquisition by the canton of Basel. After passing through several owners, it was purchased by the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1850.
Description
The main image shows the repoussé silver-gilt cover of the reliquary modelled in the shape of the saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
's head, which was made between 1180 and 1200 AD. It is adorned with a headband composed of glass and various precious stones. Around the base, twelve gold figures of the Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
stand within arcading. Inside was a contemporary sycamore wooden case with a hollow compartment that held the relics of various saints and fragments of a skull that may have been from the head of Saint Eustace. The wooden head and relics were only discovered when the outer silver case was being cleaned in 1956.
Relic Deposit
From the ninth century, enshrining items which had once belonged to saints or church leaders, such as their bones or parts of their clothing, was an important feature of religious life in early medieval Europe. The reliquary could often be in the shape of a foot, arm, bell or even a domed building. In this case, the medieval silversmith had designed the relic deposit container in the shape of St. Eustace's head, who was an important Roman military saint. The image was designed to convey the sacredness and majesty of the saint to the pious
Pious may refer to:
* Farshad Pious (born 1962), Iranian retired footballer
* Minerva Pious (1903–1979), American actress
* Pious (novel), ''Pious'' (novel), a 2010 novel by Kenn Bivins
See also
* List of people known as the Pious
* Piety
* ...
faithful. Many of these luxury items were later melted down and destroyed during the reformation.
Gallery
Image:Reliquary head of St Eustace.jpg, Wooden head of St. Eustace that may have held his relics.
References
{{reflist
Further reading
*J.C.H. King (ed.), Human image (London, The British Museum Press, 2000)
*J. Robinson, Masterpieces: Medieval Art (London, British Museum Press, 2008)
*T. Richard Blurton (ed.), The enduring image: treasures, exh. cat (British Council, 1997)
Medieval European objects in the British Museum
Silver objects
Christian reliquaries