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Reliquary Casket of Saints Adrian and Natalia

Silver-toned reliquary in the shape of a long rectangle with an upper resembling a pitched roof. In relief on its side, armed figures surround a falling figure in distress as a single figure attacks him.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Silver-toned reliquary in the shape of a long rectangle with an upper resembling a pitched roof. In relief on its side, armed figures surround a falling figure in distress as a single figure attacks him.

Date:

1100/50

Artist:

Spanish, León

About this artwork

This rare casket was made to contain the sacred relics of Saint Adrian. It was fashioned like a miniature tomb, complete with a tiled roof and Romanesque columns. Adrian was revered as the patron saint of soldiers and a protector against the plague. A Roman officer in charge of the persecution of Christians, Adrian so admired the virtues of those whom he oppressed that he converted to their faith. After declaring himself a Christian, Adrian was arrested and brutally martyred in the early fourth century. Unflinchingly illustrated on the sides of this reliquary (and reinforced by the inscription) is the story of Adrian’s trial, his dismemberment, and the transport of his remains to a city near Constantinople by his devoted wife, Saint Natalia.

The casket’s design was hammered out from the reverse on thin sheets of silver, a technique called repoussé. The figures were reduced to simple, monumental forms composed of convex bulges, reflecting the style of Romanesque relief sculpture and manuscript illumination in northern Spain.

Status

On View, Gallery 236

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

Reliquary Casket of Saints Adrian and Natalia

Place

Spain (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1100–1200

Medium

Silver and oak core

Inscriptions

Inscription: MARTIRIS EXIMINI SACRUM/QUI MARTIR FACTUS SPREVIT EUM/[JA]CET HIC ADRIAN

Dimensions

15.9 × 25.4 × 14.5 cm (6 1/4 × 10 × 5 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment

Reference Number

1943.65

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/46230/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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