The Crypt of St Servatius and the empty tomb of Charles, the last Carolingian duke of Lorraine
Last week I visited the Saint Servatius church in Maastricht and its treasury. I was positively surprised by the large amount of high quality medieval reliquaries. Obviously I knew of the most famous examples, like the golden statue of the Saint’s head, and the Noodkist – or Emergency Chest – which was to be carried through the city in times of dire need.
The Noodkist, one of the finest examples of 12th century Maasland art
However, I was unaware of the many other pieces they had, as fine as this massive golden chest, like the many ivory objects, including a chest fashioned entirely – and delicately – from ivory and adorned with wonderful 12th century romanesque depictions of animals and angry looking men. Unfortunately I cannot find any images of it, nor of the small objects they had, such as pilgrim’s pins, small crosses, etc.
On the plus side, they did have the key of St Servatius, which opens the doors of heaven. You can view an excellent photo of it here; also check out the next photograph, which shows the intricate mechanism for displaying the key (using a paperclip). All other photographs on this blog were taken from here.
Also, in my last blog post I included spoiler warnings. However, I was not serious and there were no real spoilers. It was all an elaborate ruse, inspired by the Karadzic trial.
