# Reliquary of St. Thomas Becket [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN GOLDSMITH, French]() - Date: 1151-1200 - Technique: Limoges enamel ## Commentary Reliquary of St. Thomas Becket 12th century Limoges enamel Cathedral Treasury, Hereford In the Middle Ages the cult of relics was a major preoccupation of both clergy and laity, and there was keen competition to acquire those with most fame and prestige. The most prized relics were those associated with Christ himself, followed by those of major figures such as St. Thomas Becket. The picture shows one of the several reliquaries which contain relics associated with St Thomas Backet. In the present photo the side of the reliquary with a scene depicting his martyrdom can be seen. ## Related artworks - [Allegory of Faith in Baptism]() - [Angel Reliquary \(detail\)]() - [Angel Reliquary]() - [Aquamanile]() - [Binding of a Book of Hours]() - [Bust Reliquary]() - [Butterfly Reliquary]() - [Casket with Scenes of Courtly Love]() - [Casket with Scenes of Courtly Love]() - [Corpus]() - [Enseigne with battle composition]() - [Fibula of Picquigny]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()