Reliquary
Just like the reliquary kept in London, a small box from the 12th century preserved at the Bavarian national museum in Munich is considered to be a vessel for the storage of relics. It is also rectangular, but it has a hipped roof. Moreover, a socket in which a stick - perhaps of an Ostensorium - could be plugged in is fixed centrally on this cover. There are also differences in the arrangement of the figures. The Munich piece shows numerous scenes from the New Testament, including the Annunciation (narrow side), the Birth and Baptism of Jesus (back) and the Wedding of Cana (narrow side) in the lower zone, i. e. in the area of the box. Scenes depict the Women at the Tomb (front), the Doubting Thomas (narrow side), the Ascension (back) and depiction of Christ’s sarcophagus (narrow side) in the upper zone, i. e. the area of the cover. The central representation in the lower zone (front), which summarizes all the others, shows the enthroned Christ surrounded by the four Evangelist’s symbols and flanked by Maria and John, and Peter and Paul in a Mandorla. So we have a collection of figures aligned to Jesus Christ as we had in the reliquary held in London, but this one is different in that it provides two focal points - the beginning and end of earthly life and work, and the events after its end.