Reliquary of St. Eustace

The relics of Saint Eustace is a sacred container of medieval silver and wood in the form of Saint Eustace's head, which was once part of the Treasury of Basel Cathedral. The Treasury was bought by Basel in 1836 and immediately sold to collectors and museums in Europe at the auction. The holy box was later purchased by the British Museum. [1] [2]

Over the centuries, this holy box is a treasure house of the cathedral in Basel, Switzerland and was first recorded in 1477. It was sold with other warehouses in 1836 right after the acquisition in Basel. After some owner, it was acquired by the British Museum in 1850.

The main picture shows a silver-plated covering of sacred boxes made between 1180 and 1200 in the shape of a saint's head. It is decorated with a glass headband and various stones. The apostles of 12 golden statues stood arched around the base. The interior is a contemporary American Sycamore wooden box containing various saints' relics and skull fragments that may come from the head of St Eustace. Trees and artifacts were discovered for the first time when silver exterior was cleaned in 1956.

Since the 9th century, what was once owned by saints and church leaders, such as bones and parts of clothing, was an important feature of European religious life in the early Middle Ages. The holy box is usually in the shape of a foot, an arm, a bell, or a dome. In this case, the medieval silver workmaker designed a residual settling vessel at the head of St. Eustace, an important Roman military saint. This image aims to convey the sanctity and dignity of the saint to the devout followers. Many of these luxury goods were melted and destroyed later during the reform period.

The holy box of St. Eustace is the longest part of the treasure of Olomouc's Cathedral. It is made of gold-plated copper and engraved with sculpture and colored enamel. The hexagonal base has an arcuate knot and two whirlpools and is connected to a tower head with four corner mountains. Cylindrical top decorated in the form of a trimmed four-lobe and a cross-shaped folding roof on the top are attached to the head and a glass cylinder containing artifacts is inserted in the head There. The base is decorated with the images of six angels standing at the Gothic Arcade. Because of this kind of purpose, it may be also the Eucharist that they were later inserted into the saints of the saints, so it is difficult to judge whether they were made as holy purpose. The strip marked as a relic belonging started in the 19th century. The sacred chest of St. Eustace and the construction of its bonds refer to the French Limoges which is the famous 12th century enamel art center.

The relics of Saint Eustace is a sacred container of medieval silver and wood in the form of Saint Eustace's head, which was once part of the Treasury of Basel Cathedral. The Treasury was bought by Basel in 1836 and immediately sold to collectors and museums in Europe at the auction. After that, the British Museum bought a holy box. Over the centuries, this holy box is a treasure house of the cathedral in Basel, Switzerland and was first recorded in 1477. It was sold with other warehouses in 1836 right after the acquisition in Basel. After some owner, it was acquired by the British Museum in 1850.

The sacred purpose of the body part became popular in the middle of the Middle Ages (12th century to the 13th century). The shapes of these sacred objects may be manifestations of their content, but they sometimes contain many different relics. The same applies to Eustace's Head Holy Box. There are many relics such as Trier's first bishop, Eucalyus's relic, Nicholas's Mai's bishop, Benedict, monastery of Monte Cassino, sacred virgin and so on. In 1955 a holy box was opened and the relics were sent back to Basel. The head of St. Eustace is made up of a wooden (Siton Maple) core and a silver plated repute shell, and the shell consists of eleven gold-plated pieces covering the neck and head. A band of eyebrows decorated with 16 color stones surrounds the characters of the characters cleanly. The head is mounted on a silver-plated pedestal and is decorated with 12 apostles standing under the arch