Lothair Crystal
Encyclopedia
The Lothair Crystal is an engraved gem from Lotharingia
in North-West Europe, showing scenes of the biblical
story of Susanna
, dating from 855-869. The Lothair Crystal is an object in the collection of the British Museum
.
("rock crystal"), measuring about 4 inches (10.2 cm) in diameter. This is engraved in intaglio with eight scenes depicting the story of Susanna
and the Elders, related in the Book of Daniel
(but regarded as part of the Apocrypha
by Protestants). Susanna is first shown being falsely accused and condemned for adultery by the elders. Daniel
intervenes to question the elders, uncovers their false witness and engineers their execution by stoning. In the final scene, Susanna is declared to be innocent. The scenes are accompanied by brief inscriptions
in Latin drawn from the Vulgate Bible
.
The engravings on the crystal are executed in the energetic and distinctive early mediæval Rheims style which originated in manuscript
drawings such as those in the Utrecht Psalter
. The crystal is surrounded by a 15th century gilt-copper mount with a foliage border, which was once attributed to Saint Eligius
(d. 660), the patron saint
of goldsmith
s.
, caused [this to be made]"), apparently Lothair II, or "Lothar" in German. The elder Lothair styled himself imperator
(emperor), whereas the younger man only called himself rex (king), as does the owner of the crystal; it is therefore probable that it was created in Lothair II's time, probably around the middle of the 9th century, making it a late example of Carolingian art
.
and the Canon
of Rheims – in exchange for a horse. The Canon then denied possession of the crystal. It was later discovered to be in his possession when the canon was smoked out of the cathedral when it was set alight. In penance
, he founded Waulsort Abbey
(in modern Belgium
), where the crystal was held until the 18th century. During part of this period, it was utilised by the abbots to fasten their cope
s during mass.
In 1793, revolutionary French
forces sacked Waulsort and threw the crystal into the Meuse
river, reputedly cracking it in the process. In the 19th century it was stolen and stripped of its jewels. It reappeared in the hands of a Belgian dealer, who claimed it had been retrieved from the river bed and sold it to a French collector for twelve franc
s. It passed to the British Liberal
politician Ralph Bernal
, who paid £
10 for it. In 1855 it was acquired by Augustus Wollaston Franks
on behalf of the British Museum in an auction of Bernal's collection at Christie's
for £267.
The Lothair Crystal was Object 53 in the 2010 BBC Radio 4
programme A History of the World in 100 Objects
, chosen and presented by the Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor
.
in Aachen Cathedral
. A number of interpretations have been advanced for the crystal's function as well as its meaning and significance to the Lotharingian court; its meaning is unclear and it has been the subject of ongoing controversy among scholars.
The subject matter of the crystal suggests that it was meant to be shown at court as a symbol of the king's role in the dispensation of justice. Its design may be an allusion to the breastplate of justice worn by the Kohen Gadol
(the Jewish High Priest). Under this interpretation, the crystal may have been an attempt to show visually the ruler's responsibility to provide justice, using a biblical parallel to exhort him to uphold the ideal of wise rule exemplified by the just kings of the Old Testament. Alternatively, the subject of the crystal symbolises an idealised relationship between Church and state, with Susanna representing the Church being protected from her enemies by the just decisions of the ruler.
Valerie Flint
has argued that the crystal is related to the acrimonious divorce of Lothair and his wife Theutberga, whom he accused of committing incest
and practicing abortion
. It depicts the vindication of a wife falsely accused of a sexual crime, and the type of rock crystal from which it is made was used by the Franks
as an amulet. Flint suggests that the crystal was designed in 865, when Lothar had a temporary reconciliation with his wife, to serve both as a reproach to the king for his conduct and as a charm to protect the royal couple against evil.
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
in North-West Europe, showing scenes of the biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
story of Susanna
Susanna (Book of Daniel)
Susanna or Shoshana included in the Book of Daniel by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It is one of the additions to Daniel, considered apocryphal by Protestants. It is listed in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England among the books which are included...
, dating from 855-869. The Lothair Crystal is an object in the collection of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Description
The original element of the work is a circular disk of clear quartzQuartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
("rock crystal"), measuring about 4 inches (10.2 cm) in diameter. This is engraved in intaglio with eight scenes depicting the story of Susanna
Susanna (Book of Daniel)
Susanna or Shoshana included in the Book of Daniel by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It is one of the additions to Daniel, considered apocryphal by Protestants. It is listed in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England among the books which are included...
and the Elders, related in the Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
(but regarded as part of the Apocrypha
Biblical apocrypha
The word "apocrypha" is today often used to refer to the collection of ancient books printed in some editions of the Bible in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments...
by Protestants). Susanna is first shown being falsely accused and condemned for adultery by the elders. Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
intervenes to question the elders, uncovers their false witness and engineers their execution by stoning. In the final scene, Susanna is declared to be innocent. The scenes are accompanied by brief inscriptions
Titulus (inscription)
Titulus is a term used for the labels or captions naming figures or subjects in art, which were commonly added in classical and medieval art, and remain conventional in Eastern Orthodox icons...
in Latin drawn from the Vulgate Bible
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
.
The engravings on the crystal are executed in the energetic and distinctive early mediæval Rheims style which originated in manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
drawings such as those in the Utrecht Psalter
Utrecht Psalter
The Utrecht Psalter is a ninth century illuminated psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript in the Netherlands. It is famous for its 166 lively pen illustrations, with one accompanying each psalm and the other texts in the manuscript...
. The crystal is surrounded by a 15th century gilt-copper mount with a foliage border, which was once attributed to Saint Eligius
Saint Eligius
Saint Eligius is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers , a corps of the British Army, but he is best known for being the patron saint of horses and those who work with them...
(d. 660), the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
s.
Dating
The crystal is inscribed LOTHARIVS REX FRANCORVM IVSSIT ("Lothair, King of the FranksFranks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, caused [this to be made]"), apparently Lothair II, or "Lothar" in German. The elder Lothair styled himself imperator
Imperator
The Latin word Imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empreur...
(emperor), whereas the younger man only called himself rex (king), as does the owner of the crystal; it is therefore probable that it was created in Lothair II's time, probably around the middle of the 9th century, making it a late example of Carolingian art
Carolingian art
Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
.
History
Nothing is known of the history of the Lothair Crystal prior to the 10th century. Around this time, it was pawned between a CountCount
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
and the Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Rheims – in exchange for a horse. The Canon then denied possession of the crystal. It was later discovered to be in his possession when the canon was smoked out of the cathedral when it was set alight. In penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
, he founded Waulsort Abbey
Waulsort Abbey
Waulsort Abbey was a Benedictine monastery located at Waulsort now in Hastière in the province of Namur, Belgium.The monastery was founded in 946 by Scottish monks. Saint Maccallin and Saint Cathróe were the first two abbots. Saint Forannan was also subsequently abbot of Waulsort.The abbey was...
(in modern Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), where the crystal was held until the 18th century. During part of this period, it was utilised by the abbots to fasten their cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
s during mass.
In 1793, revolutionary French
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
forces sacked Waulsort and threw the crystal into the Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
river, reputedly cracking it in the process. In the 19th century it was stolen and stripped of its jewels. It reappeared in the hands of a Belgian dealer, who claimed it had been retrieved from the river bed and sold it to a French collector for twelve franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s. It passed to the British Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician Ralph Bernal
Ralph Bernal
Ralph Bernal was a British Whig politician and art collector. His family were Sephardi Jews of Spanish origin, but he was baptised at St Olave Hart Street in London....
, who paid £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
10 for it. In 1855 it was acquired by Augustus Wollaston Franks
Augustus Wollaston Franks
Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks KCB was an English antiquary and museum administrator. Franks was described by Marjorie Caygill, historian of the British Museum, as "arguably the most important collector in the history of the British Museum, and one of the greatest collectors of his age".-Early...
on behalf of the British Museum in an auction of Bernal's collection at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
for £267.
The Lothair Crystal was Object 53 in the 2010 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme A History of the World in 100 Objects
A History of the World in 100 Objects
A History of the World in 100 Objects was a joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum, comprising a 100-part radio series written and presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor...
, chosen and presented by the Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor
Neil MacGregor
Robert Neil MacGregor, OM, FSA is an art historian and museum director. He was the Editor of the Burlington Magazine from 1981 to 1987, the Director of the National Gallery, London, from 1987 to 2002, and was appointed Director of the British Museum in 2002...
.
Interpretation
The crystal is one of a small number of Carolingian engraved gems created for the circles around the court, although its form does not closely resemble any of the others. A gem with his portrait that was probably Lothair's personal seal was set a hundred years after his death into the processional Cross of LothairCross of Lothair
The Cross of Lothair or Lothair Cross is a crux gemmata processional cross dating from about 1000 AD, though its base dates from the 14th century. It was made in Germany, probably at Cologne...
in Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral, frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral" , is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages...
. A number of interpretations have been advanced for the crystal's function as well as its meaning and significance to the Lotharingian court; its meaning is unclear and it has been the subject of ongoing controversy among scholars.
The subject matter of the crystal suggests that it was meant to be shown at court as a symbol of the king's role in the dispensation of justice. Its design may be an allusion to the breastplate of justice worn by the Kohen Gadol
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
(the Jewish High Priest). Under this interpretation, the crystal may have been an attempt to show visually the ruler's responsibility to provide justice, using a biblical parallel to exhort him to uphold the ideal of wise rule exemplified by the just kings of the Old Testament. Alternatively, the subject of the crystal symbolises an idealised relationship between Church and state, with Susanna representing the Church being protected from her enemies by the just decisions of the ruler.
Valerie Flint
Valerie Flint
Valerie Irene Jane Flint was a British scholar and historian, specialising in mediæval intellectual and cultural history.- Early life :...
has argued that the crystal is related to the acrimonious divorce of Lothair and his wife Theutberga, whom he accused of committing incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
and practicing abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. It depicts the vindication of a wife falsely accused of a sexual crime, and the type of rock crystal from which it is made was used by the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
as an amulet. Flint suggests that the crystal was designed in 865, when Lothar had a temporary reconciliation with his wife, to serve both as a reproach to the king for his conduct and as a charm to protect the royal couple against evil.