Agate box
Encyclopedia
The Agate Casket of Oviedo is an elaborately decorated box, casket or small chest given by King Fruela II of Asturias and his wife Nunila to the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo
, Spain
. This masterpiece of 10th century Asturian
gold work is kept in the Cámara Santa (Holy Chamber) treasury.
, with a lid in the shape of a truncated pyramid. The Agate
box is 42 centimetres (16.5 in) long, 27.5 centimetres (10.8 in) wide and 25 centimetres (9.8 in) high. The wooden box is covered with sheets of gold forming unequal arches in which 99 large flat sections of veined agate
are mounted. The gold is decorated with cabochon
gemstones and coral
. The top of the lid is a gold plaque with a cross and three large gems which was taken from an older piece. It is decorated with small animals in enamel
in a kind of champlevé
technique that is only found in one other work, the South German rear cover of the Lindau Gospels, of the late 8th century, now in the Morgan Library
, New York.
The base of the box is made of pure silver, with a cross made of gem
s and with a carved tetramorph
, representing the four evangelists: the angel St. Matthew, the Lion of St. Mark, the ox of St. Luke and the eagle of St. John
. The inscription which describes the donation of the box to the cathedral is engraved on the basex. It reads:
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. This masterpiece of 10th century Asturian
Asturian art
Pre-Romanesque architecture in Asturias is framed between the years 711 and 910, the period of the rise, extension and disappearance of the kingdom of Asturias.-Historical introduction:...
gold work is kept in the Cámara Santa (Holy Chamber) treasury.
Construction
It is a rectangular box made of wood of European PearEuropean Pear
The European Pear, Pyrus communis, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia. The European Pear is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America and Australia have...
, with a lid in the shape of a truncated pyramid. The Agate
Agate
Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
box is 42 centimetres (16.5 in) long, 27.5 centimetres (10.8 in) wide and 25 centimetres (9.8 in) high. The wooden box is covered with sheets of gold forming unequal arches in which 99 large flat sections of veined agate
Agate
Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
are mounted. The gold is decorated with cabochon
Cabochon
A cabochon , from the Middle French caboche , is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex top with a flat bottom. Cutting en cabochon is usually applied to opaque gems, while faceting is usually applied to transparent stones...
gemstones and coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
. The top of the lid is a gold plaque with a cross and three large gems which was taken from an older piece. It is decorated with small animals in enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
in a kind of champlevé
Champlevé
Champlevé is an enamelling technique in the decorative arts, or an object made by that process, in which troughs or cells are carved or cast into the surface of a metal object, and filled with vitreous enamel. The piece is then fired until the enamel melts, and when cooled the surface of the object...
technique that is only found in one other work, the South German rear cover of the Lindau Gospels, of the late 8th century, now in the Morgan Library
Morgan Library
The Morgan Library & Museum is a museum and research library in New York City, USA. It was founded to house the private library of J. P. Morgan in 1906, which included, besides the manuscripts and printed books, some of them in rare bindings, his collection of prints and drawings...
, New York.
The base of the box is made of pure silver, with a cross made of gem
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
s and with a carved tetramorph
Tetramorph
A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek tetra, meaning four, and morph, shape....
, representing the four evangelists: the angel St. Matthew, the Lion of St. Mark, the ox of St. Luke and the eagle of St. John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
. The inscription which describes the donation of the box to the cathedral is engraved on the basex. It reads: