Reliquary bust of Saint Thekla

anonymous, c. 1290 - c. 1300

Saint Thekla was a follower of the Apostle Paul. She miraculously survived various cruel forms of torture. A relic from her body was preserved in this precious reliquary from Basel Cathedral. By giving the reliquary literally the form of a face, it was imbued with far greater expressive power, making it easier for the faithful to venerate the saint’s remains.

Artwork typereliquary
Object numberBK-16997
Dimensionsheight 32.2 cm x width 25.3 cm x depth 21.5 cm
Physical characteristicsverguld zilver, email

Identification

Title(s)
Reliquary bust of Saint Thekla
Object type
Object number
BK-16997
Description
Reliekbuste van verguld zilver en email, voorstellende de heilige Thekla. Het haar is aan de achterzijde in twee vlechten verdeeld. Om de hals, langs de rand van het gewaad, een ketting met rood email en, aan de voorzijde, een wapenschild. Bruin geëmailleerde ogen tegen blank-zilveren oogbol. Van de haarband zijn enkele resten over. Op een basis van verguld koper.

Creation

Creation
- silversmith: anonymous, Straatsburg (Frankrijk)
- silversmith: anonymous, Boven-Rijn [rejected attribution]
Dating
- c. 1290 - c. 1300
- c. 1325 - c. 1350
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Material and technique

Physical description
verguld zilver, email
Dimensions
height 32.2 cm x width 25.3 cm x depth 21.5 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
Inv.;…; from Prince Alexander Petrovich Basilevsky (1829-85), Paris, frs 5,500,000, with the rest of his collection en bloc, to Tsar Alexander III of Russia, for the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, 1884;{Kryzanovskaya 1990, p. 152.} …; collection Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939), Amsterdam and Paris, 1936;{Von Falke 1936, p. 188, no. Si.1.} purchased from his estate, en bloc, by the Dienststelle Mühlmann, The Hague, for Adolf Hitler's Führermuseum, Linz, 1940;{Korthals Altes 1974, pp. 21-22.} war recuperation, SNK, 1945;{HNA, SNK Archive, 2.08.42, inv. no. 548.} on loan, with 1,702 other objects, from the DRVK to the museum, 1952;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1960
Remarks
Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

- Marie-Claire Berkemeier en Günther Mattern, 'Das Wappen der von Hertenstein auf dem Büstenreliquiar der hl. Thekla?', Archivum Heraldicum : Archives Héraldiques Suisses (2003) nr. 1, p. 75-77.
- Marie-Claire Berkemeier-Favre, 'Der Basler Münsterschatz: kleine Nachlese', Jahresbericht Historisches Museum Basel (2002), p. 21, afb. 7-8.
- Ekaterina Nekrasova-Shedrinksy, Il destino delle opere della collezione Basilewsky, in: 'L'Ermitage di Basilewsky. Il collezionista di meraviglie', Torino 2013, pp. 32-41, p. 39.
- B. Falk, 'Bildnisreliquiare : Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung der metallenen Kopf-, Büsten- und Halbfigurenreliquiare im Mittelalter', Aachener Kunstblätter 59 (1991/93), nr. 55, p. 213-1214.
- E. de Jongh, 'Een heilig leeg hoofd', Openbaar Kunstbezit, Kunstschrift 3 (2000), p. 32-34.
- Uitgebreide provenance in: J. Chapuis, The treasury of Basel Cathedral, New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art), 2001, nr. 40.
- A. Reinle, Die Ausstattung deutscher Kirchen im Mittelalter: Eine Einführung, Darmstadt, 1988, p. 134.
- Verslag van de hoofd-directeur over het jaar 1953, 's-Gravenhage, 1954, p. 43.

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200113730