Late Medieval shrine
- Gallery: Room 40
- Culture: Late Medieval
- Made in: Europe (?)
- Date: 1170
- Object type: shrine, reliquary, relic
- Materials: copper; silver; gold; enamel; wood; horn; mineral; human bone (?)
- Museum number: 1978,0502.7
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
This is a Late Medieval shrine dating to 1170, created in Europe and associated with the Mosan artistic style. In the center of the gable-end is the figure of St. Oda flanked by two Virtues—Religion on one side and Charity on the other. These figures are crafted in repoussé, a technique where metal is shaped from the reverse to create a relief image, all set within a trefoil-headed arch.
The shrine is richly decorated. Copper and silver are combined with crystal inlay and enamelwork, which includes both champlevé and cloisonné techniques. The background features intricate gilded patterns, and the drapery of St. Oda is enhanced with small roundels and beading. Her head is encircled by a halo made from a separate copper-gilt plaque decorated with foliage motifs.
On either side of the gable, there are nine rectangular gilt-copper plaques. Each is adorned with blue and green enamels and holds tiny crystals in carved cavities. The inner border shows a plant-like design with eight horn-covered compartments for relics. These relics are listed in red ink on vellum and include fragments from St. Elizabeth of Thuringia and the eleven thousand Virgins of Cologne.
The craftsmanship and materials reflect the artistic sophistication of the era, blending devotional use with exquisite artistry. It's part of the collection bequeathed by Sir Harold Wernher, having once been part of a larger twelfth-century shrine in Amay, now rediscovered in present-day Belgium.
See it in person
Late Medieval shrine is on display in Room 40 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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