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The Treasury of Basel Cathedral
Reliquary Head of Saint Eustace, 1180–1200 (wood head and base); 1200–1220 (silver head and base)
Upper Rhineland, possibly Basel
Raised, stamped, and partially gilded silver, with filigree, copper, glass, rock crystal, chalcedony, amethyst, mother-of-pearl, onyx, and carnelian, with fragments of silk; H. (silver head and base, overall) 13 1/4 in. (33.5 cm)
Trustees of the British Museum
Description
Branched Cross with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist, 1350–1400 (cross; Basel); before 1477 (base; attributed to Hans Rutenzwig, Basel)
Raised, cast, engraved, and gilded silver, with translucent basse-taille enamel, pearls, and red pigment (crucifix); raised, engraved, and partially gilded silver (base); H. (crucifix) 7 1/2 in. (19 cm), with base 19 3/8 in. (49.2 cm)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Reliquary Casket, about 1450
Upper Rhineland, probably Basel
Engraved, cut, and gilded copper, with paper painted blue; 7 7/8 x 8 x 5 3/4 in. (19.8 x 20.2 x 14.6 cm)
Historisches Museum Basel, Gift of Sophie von Knosp-Schmid
Sunday Cross, 1450–75
Basel
Raised, cast, chased, and gilded silver, with rock-crystal cabochons, glass, glass doublets with silver foil, and garnet, amethyst, sapphire, carnelian, flourite, and citrine; 19 5/8 in. (49.8 cm)
Römisch-Katholische Kirche Basel-Stadt (Sankt Clara)
Hallwyl Reliquary, before 1470 (Strasbourg); 1470 (base; Mathias Frischmut)
Raised, cast, engraved, punched, and chased gold, with diamonds and a ruby (Crucifixion group); raised, cast, engraved, cut, and gilded silver, with opaque champlevé enamel, a sapphire, and a sardonyx cameo (reliquary); and gilded lindenwood (base); H. (overall) 23 1/8 in. (58.7 cm)
Historisches Museum Basel
Statuette of King David, about 1280 (Virgin and Child, incorporating a cameo of about 1150); about 1290–1300 (figure of David, incorporating an antique cameo of the 2nd or 3rd century A.D.); about 1320 or shortly thereafter (reliquary group); 15th century (crown and base)
Upper Rhineland, possibly Constance
Raised, cast, and cut gold, with a sardonyx cameo, glass, and garnet (David and the Virgin); raised, cast, and gilded silver, with translucent basse-taille enamel, glass, and gemstones (crown, lower section); and gilded wood (base); H. (overall) 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Statuette of Saint Christopher, 1425–50
Raised, cast, engraved, punched, and partially gilded silver; H. 17 1/2 in. (44.2 cm)
Historisches Museum Basel, On loan from the Gottfried Keller Foundation
Dorothy Reliquary Monstrance, 1417–20 (shrine; Upper Rhineland, possibly Constance); about 1440 (base, stem, and crockets and finial above; Basel)
Raised, engraved, pounced, and partially gilded silver, with glass, translucent and opaque champlevé enamel, and a chalcedony intaglio, agate cameo, amethyst, garnet, sapphire, and spinel ruby; H. 21 3/4 in. (55 cm)
Reliquary Bust of Saint Ursula, 1300–1320 (bust; Upper Rhineland, probably Basel); 1325–50 (supporting collar)
Raised, engraved, cast, chased, and gilded silver, with translucent and opaque basse-taille enamel, translucent cloisonné enamel (émail de plique), and glass, all set on a raised and gilded-copper collar; H. 14 in. (35.5 cm)
Historisches Museum Basel. Purchased with contributions from the People of Basel ("Ursula-Spende"), the Verein des Historischen Museums Basel, and a subvention from the Swiss Confederation
The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Foot Reliquary, dated 1450
Raised, stamped, cast, and partially gilded silver, and engraved and gilded copper, all on a wood core, with translucent émaux de plique, rock crystal, glass stones, and pearls, a garnet, and a mother-of-pearl relief; H. 5 5/8 in. (14.2 cm), L. 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm)
Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich
Descriptionémaux de plique, were reemployed to create a new, if somewhat eclectic, reliquary.
Ewer, 1350–75 (rock crystal; Venice or Paris); 1350–75 (mounts; Basel)
Rock crystal, with raised, cast, stamped, engraved, and gilded-silver mounts; H. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm)
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Kunstkammer
Apostles Monstrance, 1330–40, with 15th-century alterations
Raised, cast, engraved, punched, and gilded silver, with translucent basse-taille decoration and rock crystal; H. 26 3/8 in. (67 cm)
Descriptionfoot reliquary). The circular format of the rock crystal and the limited depth of the flat frontal vessel, however, argue that it was intended to display the Host. It is generally accepted that the monstrance was made shortly after the introduction of the Feast of Corpus Christi in Basel in the 1320s. The apostles are shown on the arcade knop both as the teachers of the Word of Christ and as the disciples who accompanied him at the Last Supper. The bust-length apostles in the enamel medallions around the central disk gaze upon or gesture toward the Eucharistic vessel that held the flesh of Christ, underscoring his place as Redeemer of mankind. A remarkable example of goldsmiths' work, exceptional for its clarity of composition and form, richness of detail, accomplished execution, and quality of enameled decoration, the Apostles Monstrance reflects the palpable influence of Strasbourg, a seminal center of artistic creativity: the delicate starlike tracery in the central circle of the gable is a miniaturization of the gable over the north portal on the west face of the Cathedral of Strasbourg.
Münch Monstrance 1490–94
Attributed to Jörg Schongauer
Raised, cast, swaged, chased, and engraved silver, with a diamond, garnet, opaque champlevé enamel, and modern glass; H. 42 7/8 in. (108.8 cm)
Historisches Museum Basel, Gift of the Government of Canton Basel-Country
Historisches Museum Basel Description