Saxon & Medieval — Medieval; late 13th century-14th century
Unidentified
Part of a chasse-shaped ampulla (small bottle for holy water) from the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. A chasse is a type of reliquary box used to hold the relics of a saint. They were shaped like a church or house with a sloping roof. This ampulla is decorated with a standing figure on one end and a projecting cross from the corner of the roof. Only one end of the ampulla has survived and it is very damaged.
Canterbury ampullae contained holy water tinged with St Thomas Becket’s blood. The blood had been collected from his wounds by the monks of the cathedral after Becket had been murdered there by four knights of King Henry II on 29 December 1170. Holy water mixed with this blood became a miraculous cure for all kinds of diseases and was said to bring the dead back to life. Ampullae containing ‘Canterbury water’ were popular pilgrim souvenirs.
- Category:
- Saxon & Medieval
- Object ID:
- 91.201/8
- Object name:
- Unidentified
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- Medieval; late 13th century-14th century
- Material:
lead alloy
- Measurements/duration:
- H 38 mm, W 19 mm, D 10 mm (overall)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.