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German - Reliquary with Apostles - Walters 71146
Summary
This octagonal reliquary, or container for saints' relics, is decorated with standing figures of eight apostles, all carved in a compact, linear style more typical of the 11th and 12th centuries. The shape of the reliquary, though, is 13th-century. The plaques are carved from bone, which was more plentiful and less expensive than elephant ivory. The reliquary, one of seven small tower-shaped vessels to survive from Cologne, originally rested on four short feet and was crowned by a knob finial.
Bone carving encompasses the acts of creating art, tools, and other goods by carving animal bones, antlers, and horns. It can result in the ornamentation of a bone or the creation of a distinct object. Bone carving has been practiced by a variety of world cultures, sometimes as a cheaper, and recently a legal, substitute for ivory carving. It was important in prehistoric art, with notable figures like the Swimming Reindeer, made of antler, and many of the Venus figurines.
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