Art Analysis Post

Piece: Reliquary Casket with scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket

Creator: Unknown, suspected to be English or German

Time Period: 1173-1180

Medium: Sculpture and Painting

This piece was created out of silver and niello, and includes a gemstone on the top of the casket.  Many believe that the piece was created somewhere in England.  The piece was created to hold a relic piece that belonged to Saint Thomas Becket.  Becket was an Archbishop of Canterbury, which is a place in England.  Becket was killed by the knights of the King of England due to a long disagreement between the two.  The piece contains pictures on the sides of the casket portraying images of the Saint’s murder and what was thought to have happened.  This piece is a very unique piece that required a great amount of skill that the author needed to create the piece.  It required steady handwork to create the vivid images that are included on the faces of the casket.  It also required great building skills to create the casket itself and make it so unique.  The images that the artist painted on the faces of the casket are in greyscale, which makes them seem very dark and dull.  I think that the artist did this for a reason, which was to so they negative aspect of how Becket was murdered and it is revealing of the artists feelings of Becket’s murder.  I think that this piece has a very important religious value to many people.  The Canterbury tales is a collection of writing by Geoffrey Chaucer that revolves around the pilgrimage to Becket’s site of death.  This was a religious role for people in that time and Becket was main of great religious power.  Becket was also murdered in the Cathedral of Canterbury, which also makes this piece have an even greater religious value as well.