Reliquary Containing a Tooth
second half 19th century
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 6 3/16 x 4 1/8 in. (15.7 x 10.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1960
Accession Number
60.632.129(2)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and department, where we encounter *Reliquary Containing a*, a delicate graphite drawing by an anonymous British artist from the second of the 19th. Measuring just 6 3/16 x 4 1/8 inches, this intimate sheet captures the intricate design of a reliquary—a ornate container traditionally used to house sacred relics, in this case, a tooth believed to be a holy figure. Such objects were central to medieval Christian devotion, serving as focal points for pilgrimage and veneration. Created during the Victorian era, amid a Gothic Revival fascination...