An exceptional Siculo-Arabic sapphire-set ivory casket with Romanesque gilt-copper mounts

Norman Sicily, circa 1150-1180

Footnotes

Provenance
Private UK collection since the early 1970s, understood to have been purchased from a sale of furnishings belonging to the Massingberd-Mundy family of The Rectory, South Ormsby Hall, Lincolnshire.
Private UK collection acquired in 2021.

The casket was acquired from a deceased estate sale and is understood to have previously been purchased at auction in the early 1970s in Lincolnshire, as part of a sale of furnishings from South Ormsby Hall. The Rectory at South Ormsby was home to the branch of the Massingberd-Mundy family that served in religious office. The inventories of the Ormsby estate included collections passed down through the ecclesiastical lineage of the Massingberd-Mundy family, including notable pieces associated with Sir Draynor Massingberd (1615–1689) and Sir Thomas Massingberd (1512–1558).


East meets West

This casket is a large and exceptionally fine example from the body of ivory-mounted objects produced in the mid 12th Century by Muslim craftsmen active in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily under the reigns of Roger II (reg. 1130-1154) and William I (reg. 1154-1166). Like other known examples destined for western consumption, the casket followed the crusader and pilgrim pathways to Northern Europe where it was enriched in the monastic workshops of the Meuse Valley. It was here, during the period of 'The Cult of The Saint', that the casket was converted into a Christian reliquary providing a fascinating insight into the cross-cultural interchange between the Islamic and Christian realms of the medieval Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

Within the corpus of reliquary caskets of Sicilian origin which are still in existence, a number, including pieces in the Treasury of Salzburg Cathedral, The Vatican Museum, the Palatine Chapel in Palermo and the Berlin Museum of Islamic Art share the same truncated pyramidal form as the present casket. What makes this casket exceptional, however, is its considerable size. Parallels can be drawn with the Reliquary of St Petroc (now known as 'The Bodmin Casket') which is slightly larger at 47cm wide and bears identical gilt-copper clamps with palmette terminals (see R.H. Pinder-Wilson and C.N.L. Brooke, The Reliquary of St. Petroc and the Ivories of Norman Sicily, Oxford 1973, p. 267). Historical records show that the Reliquary of St Petroc was brought to Bodmin in 1177 by Walter of Countenance, head of Henry II's chancery. Another Sicilian ivory casket is found in the Treasury of York Minster (Inv. No. 357) and is thought to have been donated by St William, Archbishop of York and nephew of Henry II of England, after his visit to Sicily in 1147-8. Although only a few objects of Sicilian origin survive in England from the Medieval period, the trade with the Norman Kingdom of Sicily was certainly established and documented (for further discussion see C. N. L. Brooke, Europe in the Central Middle Ages, 962-1154, 1975). The recent rediscovery of this undocumented casket may offer further understanding of the circumstances of portability of objects in medieval Europe throughout the crusader/ pilgrim network of exchange.

A small number of 'Siculo-Arabic' objects are known to have been enriched by elaborate ornamental mountings produced in the Mosan style by craftsmen from the Meuse Valley. Another well known ivory piece of Islamic origin is an oliphant found in the treasury of St Servatius in Maastricht. Here, a large carved tusk was decorated with copper-gilt mounts by a Mosan atelier (c.1160-1180) converting it into a reliquary (see Marian Rosser-Owen, 'The Oliphant: A Call for a Shift of Perspective', in Rosa Bacile (ed.), Romanesque and the Mediterranean, 2015). It is therefore clear that a pathway through Europe to the Mosan workshops of Liege, Maastricht, Huy and throughout the Meuse Valley was followed, and it is here, during the second half of the 12th Century, that the conversion, or elevatio, of imported pieces such as the present casket, was at its height.

It is the portable altars, triptychs and monumental shrines of the 12th century Mosan School, that offer an insight into the repertoire of Romanesque ornament present on our casket. Parallels with the decorative register of raised acanthus, repoussé trellis pattern, punched cavities, cusps and rosettes can be found on both the Stavelot Triptych and on the Pope Alexander Reliquary. These combined elements of raised and chased work are a defining characteristic of Mosan work. An even closer connection can be made with five of the most important works of Mosan art, each uniquely, but perhaps with some uncertainty, attributed to the renowned Mosan Goldsmith Godfroid de Huy (c. 1100 - c. 1173). Comparisons with the ornament on the present casket and the punched gable of Saint Mangold, the Shrine of Saint Servatius and the chased scrolling vines of the Tryptyque de Saint-Croix are unmistakable. Furthermore, comparisons with decorative elements on the Altar of St Remaclus (destroyed in c. 1789) according to a drawing dating to the 17th Century are clear. In addition, the repoussé stylised acanthus peripheral to the truncated top of our casket is identical to that found on the Reliquary Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne by Nicholas of Verdun (c. 1130 - c. 1205) and it would appear that the same matrix was used to form both components. It is reasonable to allow for the possibility that motifs, tools and matrices were used more than once - Verdun is known to have used another matrix on both the Klosterneuburg Altar and the Reliquary Shrine of the Three Kings.

Prestigious and opulent caskets, such as the current example, would have been considered hi value status symbols commissioned by the elite of Norman Sicily. The finest examples were made in the Royal workshops of Palermo, where Muslim craftsmen remained citizens after 200 years of Islamic rule, and produced art for the court of the Norman Kings. Caskets and other luxury objects were often presented as political gifts across Europe and although they were originally produced as secular objects, many found resting places as reliquaries in the treasuries of greatest European Churches. What makes the present casket even more exceptional is its further enrichment by the unmistakable ornament consistent with the work of Mosan goldsmiths.

Comparative Examples

The original Siculo Arabic fittings on our casket, namely the handles and palmette brackets, relate closely to other examples produced during the Norman period in Sicily, whilst the later Mosan mounts can be compared with decoration on a number of important shrines produced in the Meuse Valley in the second half of the 12th Century. The circular suspension rings on the sides of our casket are directly comparable to those on a 12th Century ivory casket in the Treasury of York Minster, whilst the palmette corner brackets relate closely to those on another casket in the Trento Museum (inv. no. 41) also dated to the mid 12th Century. The hinged handle to the top is extremely similar to that on a casket sold at Sotheby's, European Sculpture and Works of Art, 3 July 2012, lot 6. Further comparable corner brackets can be see on the Bodmin Casket and another in the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin (inv. no. KFMV 60).

The decorative scheme of the gilt mounts added by craftsmen of the Meuse valley in order to enhance the visual opulence of the casket which was destined to house sacred relics, also have close links with other religious artefacts of the period. The border from the left gable edge of the Shrine of Saint Mangold in Huy (c. 1150-1200) displays the same decorative motifs and is framed with the same pearled edging as the current casket. The right border of the central panel from the Triptych de la Saint-Croix in Liège (c. 1160-1170) uses the same free hand chasing methods and displays a very comparable vine and acanthus motif as the lower border of our casket. A further example of a stylised punched motif used on the upper and lower borders of the flanks on the Reliquary Chest of St Servatius in Mastricht (c. 1165) highlights the relationship between the motifs and the current casket. A recorded drawing, made in 1661 of the Altar of St Remaclus (c. 1150), represents a further comparison, demonstrating the familiar and well-established punched border motif and also introducing the quatro-foiled petaled flowerhead. This further underscores the shared ornamental detail on our casket. The detailed enlarged image of the flank borders of the Reliquary Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (c. 1180) shows the use of repoussé palmettes. This piece is attributed to the Mosan School, specifically Nicholas de Verdun. This same motif is again found on the upper peripheral border of the casket and is thus a further significant connection to the Mosan oeuvre.

For images and further details of comparative examples, please contact the department.

Radiocarbon dating of the wood structure has provided a date range with 95% confidence between 956 and 1047 AD. Considering that trees in this period were likely to have been felled around 100 years before being used as timbers, the results are in line with the proposed production of the casket in the mid 12th Century.

The casket has been registered in accordance with the Ivory Act (Section 2) on the grounds of outstandingly high artistic cultural or historic value (reference no : RCC8C7R2).