The Reliquary Treasure of Halle
1520
- Medium
- book
- Catalogue/s Raisonné
- Not in Pan
- Accession Number
- 3668-4
- Department
- International Prints and Drawings
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1956
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
The introduction of moveable type in Europe during the second half of the fifteenth century saw a new kind of devotional book appear: the Heiltumsbuch, or relic-book. Relic-books could be purchased by pilgrims at the annual display of great relic collections, such as that of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg at Halle, which is recorded in this book with illustrations by Albrecht Dürer and other engravers. Relic-books served both as mementos of the viewing of the relics and as devotional aids, offering the believer a carefully orchestrated program for venerating the saints through text and images.