Christ Blessing the Apostles

This ivory relief representing Christ blessing the Apostles was probably made in the middle of the 19th century.

Copied from the Carolingian relief of the late 10th century on the lid of a casket in the Treasury of the Abbey Church at Quedlinburg. This is the so-called Reliquary of Henry I.

Although the ornament of the border and the architectural setting have been faithfully reproduced, the facial types of Christ and the disciples clearly betray the relief as the work of a 19th century copyist. In addition Christ's halo has been inadvertently omitted. It is possible that the copyist was working from a plaster cast, examples of which were available before 1865, rather that the original ivory.