| Bust of Charlemagne | |
|---|---|
 Bust of Charlemagne (14th century) | |
  Bust of Charlemagne Location in Aachen, Germany | |
| Year | 1349 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | gold, silver-gilt, gems, enamel [1] |
| Location | Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Germany |
| 50°46′29.1″N 6°5′2.12″E / 50.774750°N 6.0839222°E | |
The Bust of Charlemagne (German: Karlsbüste) is a reliquary from around 1350 which contains the top part of Charlemagne's skull.[2] The reliquary is part of the treasure kept in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury. Made in the Mosan region (the valley of the River Meuse), long a centre of high-quality metalwork, the bust is a masterpiece both of late Gothic metalwork and of figural sculpture.
The Bust of Charlemagne, as a masterpiece of Mosan goldwork, initiated a height of silver-gilt naturalistic reliquary busts.[3]
- ^ Mittman, Asa (10 February 2014). "Reliquary Bust of Charlemagne, Aachen Cathedral". Photobank.
- ^ Hyslop, Stephen Garrison; Daniels, Patricia; Society (U.S.), National Geographic (2011). Great Empires: An Illustrated Atlas. National Geographic Books. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-4262-0829-4.
- ^ Klaus Gereon Beuckers: Der Essener Marsusschrein. Aschendorff, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-402-06251-8, p. 30.