The St Eustace Head Reliquary
- Gallery: Room 40
- Culture: Late Medieval
- Made in: Basel
- Date: 1180 - 1200
- Object type: reliquary, reliquary-case
- Materials: wood; rock crystal; chalcedony; amethyst; cornelian; pearl; glass; silver; gold
- Museum number: 1850,1127.1
- 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
Before you is "The St Eustace Head Reliquary," a stunning Late Medieval object made in Basel around 1180–1200. This remarkable reliquary is shaped like a head and covers a wooden core, with silver-gilt repoussé detailing and a gem-set filigree circlet framing the hair. The face is delicate yet expressive, and it is surrounded with nine gems, including rock crystal, amethyst, and glass.
The reliquary was once part of Basel Cathedral’s treasury and housed fragments of relics, likely including pieces of St Eustace’s skull. Around its base, twelve gilded plaques feature the Apostles beneath trefoil arches, all hammered out from a single mold.
Silver and gold were used alongside repurposed Roman-era stones, showing the medieval appreciation for classical materials. This reliquary offers both devotional power and artistic craftsmanship, blending faith and artistry in a single iconic form.
See it in person
The St Eustace Head Reliquary 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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