Foot Reliquary: This Thing Actually Exists
The Catholic church has created plenty of weird objects, but this gemstone covered foot-shaped reliquary really takes the cake. Even weirder is what is inside.
Henry Shaw
This drawing was published in The Decorative Arts Ecclesiastical and Civil of the Middle Ages (1851) by Henry Shaw (1800-1873). It is of a real object that still exists today. Henry Shaw was an English engraver, illuminator and draftsman, who published beautiful antiquarian books. He studied topics ranging from Medieval alphabet ornamentation to furniture design and costume.
Reliquaries
Reliquaries are containers for relics (often the real or purported remains of saints), and are used in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and many other religions. The relics inside might be a bone or tooth or even bits of clothing. As relics are considered priceless, reliquaries generally are made of precious materials such as gemstones, ivory, gold and silver. Sometimes, the shape of the reliquary is designed similarly to the relic contained within. In this case, the actual foot reliquary that this drawing depicts (supposedly) contains the foot bones of a little boy from Bethlehem who was murdered by the orders of King Herod.
The reliquary was created around 1450 and was once part of the treasury at the formerly Catholic Cathedral Basel Minster in Basel Switzerland, and is now housed in the Swiss National Museum. The real object is shown here in this blog post by a historian from the museum.
We repaired the drawing and removed the background. Check it out!
