Earths Finest Treasures

Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe at the ...

LONDON.- This major exhibition brings together for the first time some of the finest sacred treasures of the medieval age. It features over 150 objects drawn from more than 40 institutions including the Vatican, European church treasuries, museums from the USA and Europe and the British Museum ’s own pre-eminent collection.

Where heaven and earth meet
It was during the medieval period that the use of relics in devotional practice first developed and became a central part of Christian worship. For many, the relics of Christ and the saints – objects associated with them, such as body parts or possessions – continue to provide a bridge between heaven and earth today.

Sacred containers
Relics were usually set into ornate containers of silver and gold known as reliquaries, opulently decorated by the finest craftsmen of the age. They had spiritual and symbolic value that reflected the importance of their sacred contents.

Over a thousand years of history
The earliest items date from the late Roman period and trace the evolution of the cult of the saints from the 4th century to the peak of relic veneration in late medieval Europe.

Relics featured in the exhibition include three thorns thought to be from the Crown of Thorns, fragments of the True Cross, the foot of St Blaise, the breast milk of the Virgin Mary, the hair of St John the Evangelist, and the Mandylion of Edessa (one of the earliest known likenesses of Jesus).

Witness a lost heritage
Treasures such as these have not been seen in significant numbers in the UK since the Reformation in the 16th century, which saw the wholesale destruction of saints’ shrines. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to glimpse the heritage of beautiful medieval craftsmanship that was lost to this country for centuries.

The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma: Treasures of Heaven - The ...

The British Museum opens its latest major exhibition today, called Treasures of Heaven: saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe . This exhibition, which will run until 9 October 2011, will bring together for the first time some of the finest sacred treasures of the medieval age. It features over 150 objects drawn from more than 40 institutions including the Vatican, European church treasuries, museums from the USA and Europe and the British Museum’s own pre-eminent collection. Amongst it star attractions is the Mandylion of Edessa, the holy image of Christ's face that is kept in the one of the Pope's private chapels. As this image is rarely seen in public, a visit to the British Museum this Summer will be a must for many Catholic and Orthodox believers. According to legend, the first century King Agbar of Edessa wrote to Jesus, inviting him to live in his city, for he had heard that there was a plot to kill the Messiah. King Agbar also suffered from leprosy, and asked Our Lord to heal him. According to the early Church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, Abgar received a response from Our Lord, informing the King that he would not be able to visit, though promised to send one of his disciples after the Ascension. Eusebius claimed that Thaddaeus (Jude) eventually made it to Edessa, bearing the words of Jesus, by the grace of which King Abgar was miraculously healed. Other accounts of this story, especially within the early Syriac Doctrine of Addai , recount that King Abgar actually sent a messenger called Ananias to ask Jesus to visit Edessa. Apparently, Ananias was also a painter, who attempted to paint a portrait of Our Lord. But, because of Christ’s dazzling glory, the artist was unable to complete the work. Jesus therefore left the artist an imprint of his face by wiping it on a towel - hence “Mandlyion” is often translated as “Holy Towel." This divine portrait, was then taken back to Edessa and conserved in the royal palace. It’s claimed in this version that it was by touching this relic that the king was finally cured of his leprosy. Other authors from the ancient world also claim that an angel painted the image. Evagrius Scholasticus wrote in AD 593 the first known account of the existence of a physical image in the ancient city of Edessa (modern-day Urfa in Turkey).

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