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Shrine of Saint Amandus

Anonymous (Flemish)

13th century (Medieval)

wood (oak), gilded copper, silver, brass, champlevé enamel, cloisonné enamel, rock crystal and semiprecious stones

H at top of finials: 19 1/4 x W: 25 1/4 x D: 11 15/16 in. (48.9 x 64.14 x 30.32 cm)

Description
This large, church-shaped shrine once housed the relics of a 7th-century saint who served as a missionary and bishop to the western regions of present-day Belgium. St. Amandus (d. 679) also established a monastery at Elnon, near Tournai (western Belgium), where the monks later commissioned this reliquary to honor his remains. The shrine of St. Amandus, ornamented with silver columns and gilded apostles, was the focus of a strong local cult, visited by pilgrims who came for healing or in thanks for prayers answered. Given its large size and popularity, the shrine was probably placed upon a platform supported by columns behind the main altar for year-round veneration.
Additional Information

Acquired by Henry Walters, 1930

53.9

Not on view

[Transcription] In black enamel on gilt copper strips placed along the base of the roof-like lid: IN ISTA CAPSA SVNT SEQVENTES RELIQ(VIA)E B(EATI) AMANDI EP(ISCOPU)S; [Translation] In black enamel on gilt copper strips placed along the base of the roof-like lid: In this reliquary are the following relics of the blessed Bishop Amandus; [Transcription] In black enamel on gilt copper strip placed along the base of the roof-like lid: PROESENTIS COMPOSITIVS;

Latin

Belgian

Romanesque and Gothic

Elnone Monastery in Tournai, Belgium


Provenance

Brimo de Laroussilhe, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henri Daguerre, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, September 3, 1930, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

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