Casket, 1100-1150 (gilded copper, champlevé enamel, wood core (modern))

This champlevé enamel casket belongs to a distinct group of nine closely related objects characterized by the vivid colors of their enamel decoration and rows of spherical pins placed along the edges of each enamel plaque. Recent X-ray analysis suggests that the casket originally functioned as a stand for an altar cross. Such a function is attested to in at least three related caskets (in Copenhagen, Hildesheim, and Berlin). The casket’s iconographic program features the 12 apostles, placed under arcades (on the long sides), the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty (on the short sides), and the Lamb of God surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists (on the lid).