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The Treasury of Basel Cathedral
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Description
This shrine is unusual in that its decorative program provides no indication of its intended function. The 1477 inventory refers to it only as a "handsome gilded coffret," and not until the 1525 inventory is there any mention of relics: the arm of Saint Philip and relics of Saint Verena. Perhaps the shrine was originally designated for a secular purpose and later converted into a reliquary. The choice of gilded copper suggests that the shrine was designed to be used on the altar, for, according to medieval regulations, copper objects could be gilded only if they served in an ecclesiastical setting.
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Description