Reliquary in the Shape of a Sarcophagus

Reliquary in the Shape of a Sarcophagus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The inscription on this reliquary suggests that it was given to a church or shrine in memory of a miracle, likely a cure, or in anticipation of a request made to the saint whose remains were kept in the box. The gabled stone sarcophagi used for Christian burial were the model for miniature copies, like those seen here, that were manufactured throughout the Byzantine Empire as containers for relics, the remains of a holy person, or objects made holy by physical contact with them. Beginning in the fourth century, the bodies of martyrs and saints were exhumed, divided, and moved to local churches, where they were placed in reliquaries that were enclosed within altars or buried under them or displayed in chapels dedicated to the saint.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Reliquary in the Shape of a SarcophagusReliquary in the Shape of a SarcophagusReliquary in the Shape of a SarcophagusReliquary in the Shape of a SarcophagusReliquary in the Shape of a Sarcophagus

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.