c.1630-40 Early Baroque Heart-shaped Reliquary

A c. 1630-40 early Baroque heart-shaped reliquary locket from the collection of Château de Treulan, of double-sided construction with an illumination of Christ Child as Savator Mundi and various saintly relics surrounding ‘true cross’ style splinters mounted within a winged flaming heart, the 22k gold casework white enameled with polychrome ‘cosse de pois’ ornaments. Heart-shaped reliquaries and devotional pendants became popular around c. 1600, concurrent with the propagation of the sacred heart as a Catholic devotion. A flaming sacred heart represents Christ’s passionate love for mankind, an idea well-conveyed by the present reliquary’s image of a Salvator Mundi (savior of the world) gazing compassionately at a globe, all within a pink ‘universe of love’. The painting technique and materials—linework with pigment washes and gilt accents on vellum—is reminiscent of late Medieval illuminated manuscripts. A highly similar image of Christ Child as Salvator Mundi can be found on another early 17th c heart-shaped reliquary, published by J. Kugel in “Joyaux Renaissance: Une Splendeur Retrouvée” (Cat. 137). For other heart shaped devotional pendants, see Victoria & Albert Museum 346-1870, British Museum 1978,1002.101, and Palazzo Pitti (Italian national catalogue 0900349316-1).

While most surviving early 17th c heart reliquaries are Spanish, the present example is almost certainly French or West European in origin. It can be observed that many South European late Renaissance – early Baroque heart jewels feature a curled tip. A strictly symmetrical heart shape is more common in West European examples (e.g. the famous 1571 Darnley Jewel and the 1597 Caul Locket). Of the previously cited heart reliquaries, the German-made example in Palazzo Pitti likewise features a symmetric heart shape. Furthermore, while early 17th c Spanish enameling tended to favor a geometric and champlevé-type ‘a la moresque’ style, French enamelers like Henri Toutin had developed free-hand enamel painting against a white ground by c. 1625. The present reliquary features such French style enameling, characterized by polychrome ‘cosse de pois’ ornaments (popularized by Jacques Caillard in his 1627 design book) against a white enamel ground. Jewels enameled in this style can be dated quite precisely to the 1630-40 decade; surviving examples with this short-lived design trait are rare. A pendant, identified as possibly French, is in the Art Institute Chicago (1992.518). Other examples include British Museum 1890,0901.42 and 1942,1005.2, V&A M.127-1975 and M.6-2016, and Museum of London A 145156 (Cheapside Hoard). Precise dating is further reinforced by the present reliquary’s tulip-shaped bail design, a feature popular between 1620-40 (for examples, see Rijksmuseum BK-1960-1, Walters Museum 58.140 and 58.148, British Museum 1942,1005.2, MET 17.190.1437, Art Institute Chicago 1992.518 and 1992.539, V&A M.62-1975).

Reliquaries were created to ‘house’ relics, the mortal remains and possessions associated with Christ and the saints. Throughout the Medieval and early-modern period, a kind of relic mania had gripped Europe; a religious and tourist industry surrounding the veneration of relics was particularly robust. The strands of hair, bones, cloth fragments, ‘true cross’ splinters, blood, and orphaned fingers of Christ and the saints were worshiped for their miraculous powers by pilgrims, who’d journey to seek a cure, expiate a crime, deepen their faith, or fulfill a vow. Pilgrimages can be even understood as a kind of pre-Enlightenment ‘Grand Tour’; for the ordinary European, a pilgrimage was one of the few ways to travel, see the world, and meet those outside of one’s own social class (as depicted in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). To draw in and accommodate ever increasing crowds, Churches and religious sites expanded their premises and competed with each other to acquire important relics. Until the 18th century, there was a sustained market boom for relics (both stolen and forged), as well as pilgrimage-related guidebooks, souvenirs, prayer books, portable altars, souvenirs, and reliquaries.

While ecclesiastical reliquaries are often shrine-like and enormous in scale, Medieval-Baroque jewelers crafted small reliquary lockets and pendants for wear. It’s not clear if examples like the present reliquary—that is, filled with relic fragments, wrapped in parchment tags with the name of the saint (see V&A 299-1866)—contain ‘true’ relics or merely religious souvenirs. It’s possible these pendants were functionally a pilgrim’s passport; each ‘relic’ may be a miniature replica of the religious artifact(s) enshrined at a holy site, meant to be collected or purchased upon visit. It was believed that the sight of relics could draw the faithful nearer to saintliness, so perhaps these pendants, through visual reminder of the pilgrimage taken, served a devotional or prophylactic purpose. Due to age and unclear abbreviations, the parchment tags in the present reliquary are difficult to decipher. The three surviving tags appear to read “S. E. Stien” (Saint Sebastien?), “S. Ambrosius” (Saint Ambrose), “Vʸ Tu [?] Pueru” (Vyrginum [?] Pueru, i.e. Virgin and Child), and “S. Ramon[rest illegible]” (possibly Saint Ramon de Penyafort or Saint Ramon Nonato). It’s not uncommon for reliquaries to contain a diverse assortment of relics. Pilgrimages often contained multiple destinations across national borders (for example, those journeying to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain could also stop along holy sites in Le Puy, Arles, Paris, and Vézelay). Combining multiple relics in one container was also thought to increase the number of saints who could answer the faithful’s prayers.