Gold Reliquary Pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2010

Reliquary Pendant, 1174–1177
English
Gold
L. 2 in. (5.1 cm), W. 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Pulitzer Bequest Fund, 1963 (63.160)

Within a decade of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Bishop Reginald of Bath presented this small pendant, which then contained minute relics of the saint's bloodied vestments, to Queen Margaret of Sicily. The relics, probably once covered by a crystal, have since disappeared, but the inscription and image of Reginald and Margaret on the back convey the pendant's original use. Even though the precise circumstances of the gift remain unknown, the pendant attests to the importance of relics and reliquaries in the political and social commerce of the Middle Ages.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/63.160

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Title: Reliquary Pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily Blessed by Bishop Reginald of Bath

Date: 1174–77

Geography: Made in Canterbury, England

Culture: English

Medium: Gold

Dimensions: Overall: 1 15/16 x 1 1/4 x 1/4 in. (5 x 3.1 x 0.7 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Gold

Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1961

Accession Number: 63.160


Description:

The engraved Latin inscription on the back identifies the subject: “Bishop Reginald of Bath hands this over to Queen Margaret of Sicily.” The inscription on the front lists the relics once contained under a crystal: “Of the blood of Saint Thomas martyr. Of his vestments stained with his blood: of the cloak, the belt, the hood, the shoe, the shirt.” The bishop probably presented this pendant to the queen on the occasion of her son’s marriage in 1177 to the daughter of Henry II. The king had instigated the murder of his former friend and chancellor, Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, on December 29, 1170.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/mediev...