Stavelot Triptych

The Stavelot Triptych is a medieval reliquary and portable altar in gold and enamel intended to protect, honor and display pieces of the True Cross.

[1][2] The black velvet background is modern, originally it was a golden field inlaid with semi-precious stones – see for example the Cross of Lothair.

[1][6] The last prince-abbot, Célestin Thys, carried the triptych to Germany during the Napoleonic Wars,[1][6] where it remained until 1910, when purchased by a London dealer who sold it to J. P.

[1] The upper, smaller triptych held relics of the True Cross, Holy Sepulchre, and the robe of the Virgin Mary.

The outer wings of the main triptych contain enamel medallions with narrative scenes from the legends of the True Cross, stories well known in the Middle Ages.

[2] As well as the masterly goldsmith's work and beauty of the Stavelot Triptych, it remains instructive as a demonstration of the diverging Eastern and Western Christian artistic traditions in the Romanesque period.

Eastern Byzantine artists use static, hierarchal figures frozen in place, silently adoring Christ and the cross.