Ivory casket
Cologne, 12th c.
12x 26 x 19 cm
Inv. 59.52.1
The casket was purchased by Primate János Simor from the Schnütgen Collection in Cologne. It is one of the oldest works of art in the Museum and is ornamented with the typical band decoration of the early Middle Ages. Originally, it must have served for the safekeeping of relics. Also its iron lock is original. Similar pieces are known from a wide area of Europe stretching from Sicily to Britain. The cost of ivory at the time equalled that of gold. Up to our days, a lot of liturgical objects – croziers, crucifixes, statuettes – are carved of ivory.
P.Cs.
