Reliquary frame of the Holy Cross

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Reliquary frame of the Holy Cross, mosan workshop, circa 1220, wooden soul, gilded copper, repoussé, stamped, chiseled and engraved, champlevé and mixed enamels, filigranes, cabochons, brown varnishes. Provenance: Saint Servatius Church of Maastricht. Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels, Belgium). Made with Remake and ReCap pro from AutoDesk. This reliquary is, like the triptych of Florennes, quite representative of the importance of the cult of the Cross in the Mosan region at the beginning of the 13th century. The double travserse gemmée cross, which houses the precious relic, stands out against a vegetal background symbolizing the Tree of Life. The inscription in the brown varnish on the reverse indicates that other relics were also contained in this reliquary. They were those of the apostles and saints particularly venerated on the Mosan territory. For more updates, please consider to follow me on Twitter at @GeoffreyMarchal.