This sumptuous object closely resembles a deluxe medieval book cover in both form and decoration. It was likely commissioned by Otto the Mild, Duke of Saxony (reigned 1318–48) around 1340. It was made to contain a leaf from each gospel and relics of the 11,000 virgins and 4 other saints. These relics were originally kept in a cavity behind the delicately carved ivory plaque depicting scenes from the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1–11). The story of Christ's first miracle is presented in three scenes. In the upper left, the Virgin informs Christ and his apostles of the lack of wine at the wedding banquet. On the right, the groom, his bride, and their guests sit behind a table, two servants offering them goblets. In the lower register, two attendants pour water into the first of six storage vessels while Christ addresses his mother and the bride. The back of the reliquary shows the engraved figures of the main patron saints of Brunswick Cathedral: placed within a delicate Gothic architectural frame, Saint John the Baptist is flanked by Saints Blaise and Thomas Becket.
Date
1000
date QS:P571,+1000-00-00T00:00:00Z/9
Medium
Ivory, silver: gilded, pearls, rubies, emeralds, crystals, onyx, cornelian, oak
Dimensions
Overall: 31.6 x 24.4 x 7.5 cm (12 7/16 x 9 5/8 x 2 15/16 in.); Part 1: 17.8 x 14 cm (7 x 5 1/2 in.)
The three-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with copyright terms of life of the creator plus 70 years or less. The creation of photographic reproduction of this object, however, generates a new copyright and an additional statement should be provided to indicate the copyright status of the image.
The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.enCC0Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedicationfalsefalse