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Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
112319
label
Book-Shaped Reliquary
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
112319
contentType
object
title
Book-Shaped Reliquary
description
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
c. 1000
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60758327
creators
9669
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
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.)
cul
Ivory: Ottonian, Lorrain; Frame: Germany, Lower Saxony, Brunswick, Gothic period, 14th century
accession
1930.741
Source extras
tec
ivory, silver: gilded, pearls, rubies, emeralds, crystals, onyx, carnelian, oak
tombstone
Book-Shaped Reliquary, c. 1000. Circle of The Master of the Registrum Gregorii (German, active c. 972–1000). Ivory, silver: gilded, pearls, rubies, emeralds, crystals, onyx, carnelian, oak; 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 Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1930.741
collection
MED - Gothic
relatedWorks
id
112021
description
Medallion with the Bust of Christ ("The Cumberland Medallion"), from the Guelph Treasure, late 700s. Germany, Weserraum, Migration period, late 8th century. Cloisonné enamel and gold on copper; diameter: 5.1 x 0.2 cm (2 x 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1930.504
id
112022
description
Monstrance with the "Paten of Saint Bernward", c. 1180–1190. Saint Oswald Reliquary Workshop (German). Silver, gilded silver, niello, rock crystal; overall: 34.5 x 15.9 x 14 cm (13 9/16 x 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.); part 1: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.); part 2: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with additional gift from Mrs. R. Henry Norweb, 1930.505
id
112316
description
Arm Reliquary of the Apostles, c. 1190. Germany, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim, Romanesque period, late 12th century. Gilt silver, champlevé enamel, oak; overall: 51 x 14 x 9.2 cm (20 1/16 x 5 1/2 x 3 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1930.739
id
112318
description
The So-called Horn of Saint Blaise, 1100–1200. South Italy or Sicily, 12th century. Ivory; overall: 12 cm (4 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1930.740
id
112958
description
Ceremonial Cross of Countess Gertrude, 1038 or shortly after. Germany, Lower Saxony?, 11th century. Gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel, intaglio gems, pearls, wood core; overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund with the addition of a gift from Mrs. Edward B. Greene 1931.55
id
112971
description
Monstrance with a Relic of Saint Sebastian, 1484. Germany, Lower Saxony, Brunswick, Gothic period, 15th century. Gilded silver, rock crystal, bone, parchment; overall: 47 cm (18 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Julius F. Goldschmidt, Z. M. Hackenbroch, and J. Rosenbaum in memory of the Exhibition of the Guelph Treasure held in the Cleveland Museum of Art from 10 January to 1 February 1931, 1931.65
id
112875
description
Ceremonial Cross of Count Liudolf, shortly after 1038. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel; intaglio gems; pearls; wood core; overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1931.461
id
112876
description
Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, c. 1045. Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century. Gold, cloisonné enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello, wood core; overall: 10.5 x 27.5 x 21 cm (4 1/8 x 10 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1931.462
citations
citation
Neumann, Wilhelm Anton, and Wenzel August Neumann. <em>Der Reliquienschatz des Hauses Braundschweig-Lüneburg</em>. Wien: Alfred Hölder, 1891.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 232-236, no. 37
citation
Goldschmidt, Adolph, Paul Gustav Hübner, and Otto Homburger.<em> Die Elfenbeinskulpturen</em>. Berlin: B. Cassirer, 1914.
page_number
Mentioned: Vol. 1, P. 29; Reproduced: Vol. 1, Taf. XXII
citation
"The Great Guelph Treasure to go to America?"<em> The Illustrated London News </em>(January 12, 1929): 45.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 45
citation
Falke, Otto von, Robert Schmidt, Georg Swarzenski, and Silvia M. Welsh. <em>The Guelph Treasure. The Sacred Relics of Brunswick Cathedral Formerly in the Possession of the Ducal House of Brunswick-Lüneburg.</em> Frankfurt/Main: Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt, 1930.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 45-46, 83-84, 173-175; Reproduced: Pl. 6, 82-83
citation
W. M. M. "The Acquisition of Six Objects from the Guelph Treasure for the Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 17, no. 9 (November 1930): 165-178, 183.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 172-173; Mentioned: P. 176-177
citation
W. M. M. “The Acquisition of Six Objects from the Guelph Treasure for the Cleveland Museum of Art: Foreword.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 17, no. 9 (November 1930): 163–165.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 163-165
citation
"Guelph Treasures Sold to America: Medieval Art for Ohio."<em> The Illustrated London News </em>(November 29, 1930): 982.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 982
citation
Milliken, William M. "The Guelph Treasure." <em>The American Magazine of Art</em> 22, no. 3 (March 1931): 163-72.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 172-173
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 98
citation
Foreville, Raymonde. Le Jubilé de Saint Thomas Becket: du XIIIe au XVe siècle, 1220-1470, Etude et Documents. Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1958.
page_number
Reproduced: Pl. 12
citation
"Gothic Art 1360-1440." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 50, no. 7 (September 1963): 174-215.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 208, no. 53
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 45
citation
Swarzenski, Hanns. <em>Monuments of Romanesque Art: The Art of Church Treasures in North-Western Europe</em>. London: Faber, 1967.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 39, no. 14; reproduced: Pl. 14, fig. 33
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Selected Works: Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art,1967.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 83
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 45
citation
Munro, Thomas. <em>Form and Style in the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetic Morphology.</em> Cleveland: Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1970.
page_number
Reproduced: Pl. 17
citation
Lasko, Peter. <em>Ars Sacra, 800-1200</em>. [Harmondsworth, Eng.]: Penguin Books, 1972.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 81, P. 120, P. 291, n. 6; Reproduced: Pl. 115
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 50
citation
Lavin, Marilyn Aronberg, and B. A. R. Carter. <em>Piero Della Francesca's Baptism of Christ.</em> New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 84-85, fig. 39
citation
James Murphy, "Ottonian or Romanesque: Two Ivory Carvings from Liège," <em>Athanor</em> I (1981): 13-18.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 13-14; Reproduced: P. 16, fig. 1
citation
De Winter, Patrick M. "The Sacral Treasure of the Guelphs." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 1 (March 1985): 2-160.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 23-24, figs. 17,18, P. 119, fig. 149, P. 121, fig. 151; Mentioned: P. 21-22, P. 118-120, P. 124, P. 133-134, P. 141, no. 45, P. 146, n.11-12, P. 154, n. 85
citation
Lasko, Peter. <em>Ars Sacra, 800-1200</em>. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 118-119, pl. 162
citation
Boockmann, Andrea. <em>Die verlorenen Teile des 'Welfenschätzes': eine Übersicht anhand des Reliquienverzeichnisses von 1482 der Stiftskirche St. Blasius in Braunschweig.</em> Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 51, P. 129, n.7, P. 157
citation
Little, Charles T. "Again the Cleveland Book-Shaped Reliquary." In <em>Der Welfenschatz und sein Umkreis</em>. Joachim Ehlers, and Dietrich Kötzsche, ed., 77-92. Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 77-92; Reproduced: Taf. 10, P. 78, 80-81, 83, figs. 1-4fig. 1
citation
Nilgen, Ursula. "Thomas Beckett und Braunschweig." In <em>Der Welfenschatz und sein Umkreis</em>. Joachim Ehlers, and Dietrich Kötzsche, ed., 219-242. Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 238-240; Reproduced: Taf. 10, P. 239, abb. 16
citation
Fritz, Johann Michael. "Das Plenar Ottos des Milden und Verwandte Werke." In <em>Der Welfenschatz und sein Umkreis</em>. Joachim Ehlers, and Dietrich Kötzsche, ed., 369-385. Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 379; Reproduced: Taf. 10, P. 377, abb. 7
citation
Brandt, Michael.<em> Abglanz des Himmels: Romanik in Hildesheim : Katalog zur Ausstellung des Dom-Museums Hildesheim, Hildesheim 2001</em>. Regensburg: Schnell + Steiner, 2001.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 141-142, abb. 49
citation
Klein, Holger A. <em>Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 126-127, no. 40
citation
Eikelmann, Renate, Holger A. Klein, Stephen N. Fliegel, and Virginia Brilliant. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art: Meisterwerke von 300 bis 1550</em>. München: Hirmer, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 118-119, no. 37
citation
Cambier, Helene. "L'art de l'Ivoire en Question. A Propos de la Production Mosane aux XIe et XIIe Siecles." <em>Les Cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa</em> 43 (2012): 165-70.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 169, figs. 7 and 8
citation
Inglis, Erik. "Expertise, Artifacts, and Time in the 1534 Inventory of the St-Denis Treasury." <em>The Art Bulletin</em> 98, no.1 (March 2016): [14]-42
page_number
Reproduced: p. 23, fig. 11
citation
Köllermann, Antje-Fee, and Christine Unsinn. Die Goldene Tafel aus Lüneburg: Akten des wissenschaftlichen Kolloqiums - Ergebnisband des Forschungsprojektes. <br>Petersberg : Michael Imhof Verlag, 2021.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 50, fig. 17
creditline
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
sketchfabId
c54e6cbecf5e450d86052da35a86af6d
updatedAt
2026-06-18 21:16:24.047000
sourceId
112319
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Gothic
med
ivory, silver: gilded, pearls, rubies, emeralds, crystals, onyx, carnelian, oak
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
aa2e54d62b083213