Treasures of Heaven on East Coast

The Baltimore Sun
February 11, 2011

MARYLAND - The major traveling exhibit, "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe," which initially opened last fall in Cleveland, will go on display today at the Walters Art Museum. The exhibit, which consists of metal works, sculptures, paintings and illuminated manuscripts from late antiquity through the Reformation, was five years in the making and includes objects on loan from the Louvre, the Vatican and the Holy of Holies, the Pope's private reliquary chapel. After a three-month stay in Baltimore, the art show will cross the ocean to London's British Museum. Collecting relics is the impulse to make imperishable that which is perishable," says The Walters' Martina Bagnoli, who co-curated the exhibit. "The idea is to flesh out something that is revolting and disgusting – human remains – into something precious that will proclaim the glory of God. Human flesh is transformed into gold and jewels." [link]

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