Bust of Charlemagne

Bust of Charlemagne
Bust of Charlemagne (14th century)
Bust of Charlemagne is located in Germany
Bust of Charlemagne
Bust of Charlemagne
Location in Aachen, Germany
Year1349 (1349)
TypeSculpture
Mediumgold, silver-gilt, gems, enamel [1]
LocationAachen Cathedral, Aachen, Germany
Coordinates50°46′29.1″N 6°5′2.12″E / 50.774750°N 6.0839222°E / 50.774750; 6.0839222 (Aachener Dom)
Charity stamp of Deutsche Bundespost, 1988

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]

  1. ^ Mittman, Asa (10 February 2014). "Reliquary Bust of Charlemagne, Aachen Cathedral". Photobank.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Klaus Gereon Beuckers: Der Essener Marsusschrein. Aschendorff, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-402-06251-8, p. 30.