The Ulm Münster Book-Covers
- Gallery: Room 2a
- Maker: Circle of Daniel Mauch
- Made in: Ulm
- Date: 1506 (circa); 1800-1866 (central roundel)
- Object type: book-cover
- Materials: silver
- Museum number: WB.88
- 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 Ulm Münster Book-Covers," an exquisite work of Renaissance-era silver craftsmanship. These book-covers were once part of the rich treasures of Ulm Cathedral and adorned books of the Gospels and Epistles.
You can see rich ornamental designs in high relief, silver gilded to highlight intricate details. At the center, a prominent circular setting holds a delicate, convex plate with a six-lobed rosette in intricate tracery. In each corner, symbols of the Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are cast in full relief, with inscribed scrolls bearing their names.
Above the central medallion, two flying angels soar, while a gabled canopy, complete with intersecting arches and slender columns, frames a seated angel. Additional saints and symbols suggest a deeply symbolic and religious function.
Though the artist remains unknown, these covers are associated with the circle of the Ulm sculptor Daniel Mauch. Their intricate designs reflect the flourishing German goldsmithing tradition of the early 16th century.
See it in person
The Ulm Münster Book-Covers is on display in Room 2a 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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