Relics and Reliquaries, New and Old
How do you remember or honor someone or something? Maybe you have that one special box full of ticket stubs and fortunes, or an urn of a loved one’s ashes sitting on the mantle. To Christian worshipers and pilgrims, the reliquaries or vessels that hold sacred contents were of utmost importance – almost as important as the sacred contents themselves and the saints and idols that they represent. Although modern practices may differ from those of Medieval Christians, the core of devotion and remembrance are the same. Two new exhibitions currently on view at the Walters explore these themes by means of reliquaries – both historic and contemporary.
A couple of weeks ago, WAMTAC had the opportunity to experience “Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe” for the first time (on view through May 15th). This exhibition explores Medieval Christians’ veneration of saints through reliquaries – ornate gold and jewel-encrusted vessels constructed beautifully enough to rightfully signify the status of the sacred items they contain.
To avoid that unfulfilling initial walk-though, overwhelmed by presence of the remarkable artifacts around us, we first walked through to hear the basic information, and then explored individually the second time through with questions in hand to discuss afterwards. As I walked through, I picked up on the rich royal blue and burgundy on the walls, the many shapes and forms that reliquaries take on, and the interactive aspects of the experience that allow visitors to become a part of the exhibit. I couldn’t help but consider faith, and the psychology of religion. Faith is an undeniable, underlying motif represented in every single piece – the common factor that brought people and these objects together. How could a tangible thing be so in tune with the divine? How did the ownership of such reliquaries hold so much political power and influence as well?
We discussed these impressions and thoughts as well as our personal stand-outs, which included a relic containing the tooth of Mary Magdalene, a golden arm designed hold a saint’s arm bone, and an intricate mosaic cabinet containing dozens of small containers. We discussed whether a vessel is as important as a relic inside, as well as reliquaries and relics in our own lives – baby teeth, crafts from second grade, various collections, and more. With our group, the weirder
the better!
The relevance we were able to find in our own lives is the perfect segue to the second exhibition I mentioned: “Relics and Reliquaries Reconsidered”, on view at the Walters through May 22nd. At WAMTAC’s meeting this past week, we had the opportunity to explore this exhibit as well, looking to our impressions of “Treasures of Heaven” to draw comparisons. The show consists of the works of eleven emerging MICA artists enrolled in the interdisciplinary sculpture course Relics, Reliquaries and Enshrined Materials – pieces created in response to the historic reliquary tradition, and a reliquary as not only a concrete object, but a representation of a greater power.
Thoughts to share? How do you think our experiences in these exhibitions compared? Are reliquaries as sacred as their contents? Is a “reliquary” of sorts an important part of your life?
I encourage you to learn more about “Relics and Reliquaries Reconsidered” and “Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe” at http://thewalters.org/exhibitions/current.aspx.
- Danielle
