Collection record · Belief & ritual
Arm Reliquary of the Apostles
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated c. 1190. Recorded culture or place: Germany, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim, Romanesque period, late 12th century.
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Arm Reliquary of the Apostles
- Date
- c. 1190
- Culture / origin
- Germany, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim, Romanesque period, late 12th century
- Materials and technique
- gilt silver, champlevé enamel, oak
- Dimensions
- Overall: 51 x 14 x 9.2 cm (20 1/16 x 5 1/2 x 3 5/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1930.739
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Taking the form of a clothed lower arm with an outstretched hand, this reliquary from the Guelph Treasure appropriately enshrines a piece of an unidentified saint’s arm bone. Arm reliquaries like this one served as liturgical props; during religious services and processions, the clergy used them to bless and touch the faithful, thus making the presence of the saint more palpable and immediate. The apostle busts that decorate this arm reliquary seem to indicate that the relic it contains is that of an apostle. Duke Henry the Lion, a major patron of the church of Saint Blaise, is known to have received such relics from the Byzantine emperor Manuel I (1143-1180) upon his return from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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