The treasury was acquired by the Canton of Basel in 1836 and shortly afterwards sold at auction to collectors and museums across Europe.

The main image shows the repoussé silver-gilt cover of the reliquary modelled in the shape of the saint's head, which was made between 1180 and 1200 AD.

From the ninth century, enshrining items which had once belonged to saints or church leaders, such as their bones or parts of their clothing, was an important feature of religious life in early medieval Europe.

In this case, the medieval silversmith had designed the relic deposit container in the shape of St. Eustace's head, who was an important Roman military saint.

The image was designed to convey the sacredness and majesty of the saint to the pious faithful.