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Introduction
This exhibition presents eighteen pieces that represent a period of Baroque piety and provides a detailed look at the decoration of relic reliquaries. Accompanying panels will introduce you to the veneration of holy bodies and will allow you to see details of the exhibits, which are not visible at first glance.
The works are made primarily of cut glass stones, wires, brocades, velvet, plaster, and many metallic threads and metallic foils. The skeletal remains on display are very well-patinated plaster replicas or anatomically accurate plastic casts.
My love of history and guiding at several historical sites in the Czech Republic led me to the idea of creating these exhibits. The Plasy monastery, which is a site very close to my heart, features the very beautifully decorated relics of St. Anthony, which come from the Roman catacombs. I was fascinated by how intricate the various parts of Anthony's body were, and I thought to myself, that sometime in the future, I would try to create something at least a little bit like that to mainly understand the intricacies of the craft itself.
In 2011, I visited Waldsassen Monastery and I marveled at other similar works created by the local Cistercian monk, Friar Adalbert Eder, who is also the author of the decoration of the relics of St. Anthony in Plasy monastery. My fascination deepened with the intricate details of the reliquaries' decorations.
Simultaneously I was completely immersed in the topic of the relics of saints, their veneration, decoration, and religious context between them. Everything is also related to the guiding at the castle in Bečov nad Teplou, where I was allowed to present the precious Romanesque Reliquary of Saint Maurus.
My interest in the topic of veneration of the saint’s relics, the production of reliquaries, and the mysticism associated with them is also projected in this exhibition, which I consider to be the culmination of my efforts, to create works inspired by the Baroque period and its concept of "overdecoration" of holy relics. My pieces are not replicas but are based on models that I have modified according to my imagination and were created using modern materials. Also, the techniques in the production do not correspond with the Baroque period, as it is very difficult to find references to the original craftsmanship.
Only by studying detailed photographs of the reliquaries did I gradually figure out how to create the individual components, adapting them to my skill, the materials available, and today's conditions.
Join me now and step back 300 years to the Baroque era and let the atmosphere of pomp, embellishment, and, above all, great reverence for holy relics breathe easily upon you.
Ferczadi,
Dis
About the Author
Education
Secondary Medical School Plzeň
Higher Vocational Medical School Plzeň
Current Employment
Medical laboratory technician - Šiklův ústav patologie (FN Plzeň)
I acquired my love for history and art as a tour guide in these historical monuments:
- Castle and Chateau Bečov nad Teplou
- Castle Hrubý Rohozec
- Water castle Švihov
- Monastery Zlatá Koruna
- Monastery Plasy
- Chateaux Žleby
Inspiration
ADALBERT EDER
( 1707 - 1777 )
Not much is known about the life of Fr Adalbert Eder. We only know that he was born in Tirschenreuth as the son of a rope maker and continued in his father's trade. He entered the Cistercian monastery in Waldsassen in 1733 at the age of 26. During his service in the abbey, he worked as an apothecary's assistant, craftsman, and rope-maker. The decoration of almost all holy bodies in the monastery basilica is his lifetime masterpiece. Eder's technique of decorating relics with wire, glass stones, pearls, and many other materials is unmistakable and extremely complex.
In addition to the decoration of the holy bodies in Waldsassen, Adalbert Eder also created smaller pieces. Only one of his works can be found in the Czech Republic - the reliquary coffin with the relics of St. Anthony in the Church of the Virgin Mary in the Plasy Monastery.
PLASY MONASTERY
On the altar of the church in Plasy, you can find a work by Adalbert Eder, which he created especially for the local monastery - a rococo reliquary coffin with the remains of St. Anthony, who died for faith around 300 AD. These relics were donated to the monastery from the Tyrolean monastery of Stams.
They were found sometime after 1690 in the Roman catacombs of St. Callistus under Pope Innocent XII. Along with them, a vial of Antonio's blood was discovered in the tomb, which is placed in an ornate chalice at his feet.
WALDSASSEN MONASTERY
From the Baroque period to the present day, the monastery basilica in Waldsassen, Germany, has amazed visitors and the faithful with the largest collection of relics north of the Alps. Adalbert Eder decorated ten complete skeletons and two partial skeletons during his time here. These saints lie in glass coffins on the side altars in the main nave of the basilica. They are dressed in stylized baroque vestments representing Roman armor and noble clothing. The decoration is done with wire, cut glass stones, brocade, and many other materials.
If any part of the skeleton was missing, those parts were carved from wood to give the saint a complete body. Only four saints who are placed in the chapels of the transept of the basilica are presented as standing. This position reinforces the reigning power of heaven, the reverence of the faithful, and their admiration. In the basilica, we find entire bodies of St. Deodatus, St. Alexander, St. Theodosius, St. Valentinus, St. Maximus, St. Ursa, St. Gratian, St. Victorian and St. Vitalian.