The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 26, 2025

Relic Bundle with Saints Stephen, Sophie, Perpetua, Paul, Barnaba, Philip, Simon, Thaddeus, John the Apostle, and James

c. 1045

Germany, Lower Saxony?, Romanesque period, 11th century

Compound weave or samite
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1931.462.i
Location: 106C Medieval Treasury

Did You Know?

An x-ray revealed only small specks of solid material among this wrapped bundle.

Description

These relics are housed in the portable altar commissioned by Countess Gertrude of Brunswick, one of the Guelph Treasure’s earliest and most sumptuous objects.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned: cat. no. 95 archive.org
    May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: no. 19, p. 24
    Mikolic, Amanda. Worshiping in Place through Art: The Hidden Gems of the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude. Cleveland Museum of Art The Thinker Blog on Medium. July 16, 2020. medium.com
  • {{cite web|title=Relic Bundle with Saints Stephen, Sophie, Perpetua, Paul, Barnaba, Philip, Simon, Thaddeus, John the Apostle, and James|url=false|author=|year=c. 1045|access-date=26 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.462.i