Gold, Jewels Adorn Exhibits of Sacred Body Parts in London

BLOOMBERG
By Martin Gayford

UNITED KINGDOM - “Treasures of Heaven,” an excellent new exhibition at the British Museum in London, is full of precious objects. Gold and jewels glitter in dramatic lighting. To the original makers and owners, however, it wasn’t the value of these sumptuous containers that counted but what was within: dry bones, splinters of wood and sundry organic remains. This is about the cult of relics, one of the strangest aspects of Christianity to those who are non-Christians (and to quite a few who are). Some of the exhibits, leaving aside the fact that they are masterpieces of medieval craft, are surreal. [link]