“Treasures of Heavensaints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe” London, British Museum

“Treasures of Heavensaints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe”

London, British Museum

23 June – 9 October 2011


This major exhibition brings together for the first time some of the
finest sacred treasures of the medieval age.

It features over 150 objects drawn from more than 40 institutions
including the Vatican, European church treasuries, museums from the USA
and Europe and the British Museum’s own pre-eminent collection.

Where heaven and earth meet
It was during the medieval period that the use of relics in devotional
practice first developed and became a central part of Christian worship.
For many, the relics of Christ and the saints – objects associated with
them, such as body parts or possessions – continue to provide a bridge
between heaven and earth today.

Sacred containers
Relics were usually set into ornate containers of silver and gold known as
reliquaries, opulently decorated by the finest craftsmen of the age. They
had spiritual and symbolic value that reflected the importance of their
sacred contents.

Over a thousand years of history
The earliest items date from the late Roman period and trace the evolution
of the cult of the saints from the 4th century to the peak of relic
veneration in late medieval Europe.

Relics featured in the exhibition include three thorns thought to be from
the Crown of Thorns, fragments of the True Cross, the foot of St Blaise,
the breast milk of the Virgin Mary, the hair of St John the Evangelist,
and the Mandylion of Edessa (one of the earliest known likenesses of
Jesus).

Witness a lost heritage
Treasures such as these have not been seen in significant numbers in the
UK since the Reformation in the 16th century, which saw the wholesale
destruction of saints’ shrines. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity
to glimpse the heritage of beautiful medieval craftsmanship that was lost
to this country for centuries.