Title

Reliquary

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Inscriptions / Marks

Inside is a label inscribed "Byzantine chasse from the convent of Martalogas, Province of Walladolid". Band: June 1975. Underneath is a label inscribed "bought at Christmas 16/7/90".

Object history

Inside the casket, there is an inscription that reads: "Byzantine Chase from the convent of Martalogas, province of Walladolid." According to this reference, the piece is believed to come from a convent in the province of Valladolid, though it is difficult to identify precisely, as no convent by that name exists today. However, in the province of León, there is the Monastery of Otero de las Dueñas, near the town of Mataluenga. The foundation of this monastery has been debated (Pérez-Embid, 1986; Faya Diaz, 1994; Baury, 2014), and it is located near the Monastery of Carrizo—both monasteries being along one of the branches of the Camino de Santiago. On the more well-known route of the Jacobean way, in this case through the lands of Burgos, there is the Benedictine Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos (Burgos), which had a renowned goldsmithing workshop (Barrón, 2002; Sanjosé Llongueras, 2016) that produced items closely linked to those of the Limoges circle. As an example, we might mention a reliquary casket (Museo de Burgos) or the Abbot Juan II’s crosier (Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos). Therefore, it would not be surprising if the casket originated from this context, connected to the Old Camino de Santiago, or the Camino Olvidado.

Perhaps the inscription inside, "Martalogas," refers to "Mataluenga." A document from the Historical Diocesan Archive of León (Baury, 2014), dated to the 13th century, refers to "Mataluenga" as "Matalonga." As for its mention of "Walladolid," this could refer to the place where the piece was acquired. We should note that the province of Valladolid has had active agents and antique dealers throughout the region, who might have traded in such items. Another possible interpretation of the name "Martalogas" could be Matallana, which is indeed located in the province of Valladolid. Matallana was the site of a powerful Cistercian monastery, and there are documentary references linking this centre with Otero de las Dueñas in León—for instance, in 1428, Otero made an exchange with the Cistercian abbot of Nogales, in the presence of the abbots of La Espina and Matallana, "watchdogs of the Cistercian order in the kingdom of León" (Fernández Catón, no. 794, p. 171). The Monastery of Matallana fell into ruin in the 19th century, first due to the Napoleonic occupation and the Peninsular War, and later as a result of the secularising confiscation measures and their consequences. Today, only its ruins remain. In any case, these are speculative hypotheses in the absence of further information.

The casket was part of a private collection in France, and although we do not know how it ended up there, it is likely that it left Spain as a result of Napoleonic looting in the early 19th century or through its sale by an antique dealer. It later became part of the collection of James Frederick Hutton, a businessman and merchant based in Manchester. After his death in 1890, the casket was auctioned at Christie’s and was acquired by the Reverend Es Dewick. In 1918, the Friends of the Fitzwilliam purchased the piece and donated it to the museum, where it remains today.

Description

The casket is decorated with gilded angels holding a book in their laps. Originally, six precious stones were set into the piece, but unfortunately, only three of them remain. On the back of the casket, numerous golden lozenges stand out against the blue background. The interior, also blue, features white stars decorating the surface. The enameling technique used is particularly noteworthy: champlevé. This method involves engraving or carving depressions into the surface of an object, typically made of metal (in this case, copper), and then filling these cavities with colored vitreous enamel. After applying the enamel, the object is fired in a kiln to fuse it, and once cooled, the surface is polished to remove any excess enamel, leaving the engraved areas filled with color and the rest of the metal exposed (Hernández, 1956; Martín, 1984; Arias, 1995; Yarza, 2001).

Locations

• ca. 1250 - ca. 1800

  region

  Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Castilla y León (Spain)

• ca. 1800 - ca. 1850

  private collection

  Private Collection France, France (France) *

• ca. 1850 - ca. 1890

  private collection

  James Frederick Hutton, Manchester (United Kingdom) *

• 1890

  auction house

  Christie's, London (United Kingdom)

• 1890 - 1918

  private collection

  Reverend E. S. Dewick (United Kingdom) *

• 1918 - present

  museum

  The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (United Kingdom)