Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe – now at the Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum has begun an exhibition offering visitors a glimpse into the Middle Ages, a time when art mediated between heaven and earth and wondrous objects of gold, silver and precious gems filled churches and monastic treasuries. Relics, the physical remains of holy people and objects associated with these individuals, play a central role in a number of religions and cultures and were especially important to the development of Christianity as it emerged in the Late Roman world as a powerful new religion. Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe, will be open until May 15th and is the first exhibition in the United States to focus on the history of relics and reliquaries—the special containers to display the holy remains of Christian saints and martyrs. The exhibition is organized by the Walters Art Museum in partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art and the British Museum.

Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net