Reliquary of Saint Martin’s Cathedral on Top Pieces List

The reliquary dates from 1625 and consists of gilded copper, silver and precious stones. It was heavily damaged during the First World War. Thanks to the detailed inventory of 1858, the history of this shrine can be well reconstructed. Formally, the shrine is in keeping with the St. Eligius Shrine, which was built in 1610-1614 by Jan Crabbe for St. Salvator in Bruges. The pilasters in the shape of a caryatid (a statue of a woman as a trestle statue) are typical of the Flemish Renaissance Lille. They are very similar to the caryatids on the corners of the Old Bourse in Lille.

Artistic value

Six saints are depicted on the shrine, including the saints Mary Magdalene, Aghata of Catania and Judocus of Ponthieu. According to the ministerial decree, the reliquary has a special artistic value: this criterion indicates the artistic importance of the object compared to the known art production. The motivation is based on the uniqueness, benchmark value and importance for the collective memory.

The reliquary is currently on display in the temporary exhibition ‘Unseen’ until September 10 at St Martin’s Cathedral.