The Ulm Münster Book-Covers
- Gallery: Room 2a
- Maker: Circle of Daniel Mauch
- Made in: Ulm
- Date: 1506 (circa)
- Object type: book-cover
- Materials: silver
- Museum number: WB.87
- 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 impressive silver artifact created around 1506 in Ulm, Germany. The piece is a cover for a Gospel book, crafted with remarkable ornamental designs in high relief. At the center, the Virgin and Child are shown with her cloak supported by two angels, while two more hold a crown above her. All are surrounded by a detailed canopy of intersecting arches, pinnacles, and columns.
The book-cover includes figures beneath the Virgin—St John giving alms to a cripple and Empress Helena holding a large cross. In the corners are figures of early church leaders like St Ambrose, St Jerome, St Augustine, and St Gregory the Great.
The silver is parcel gilt, openwork, and enriched with a skillful use of relief and engraving. Originally from the Münster in Ulm, it was later owned by a prominent Vienna family before being bequeathed to the museum in 1898. The piece remains a striking example of late Gothic metalwork from southern Germany.
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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