Phylactery reliquary

This object is a "phylactery", a type of thin polylobed reliquary suspended or placed on a base. Most of the known copies were produced in the northern regions between 1150 and 1250. The openwork side is decorated with filigree scrollwork and lions and dragons. A second plate can be seen through it containing relics, including a presumed fragment of the cross of Christ. The other side features engraved figures – a Christ in Majesty surrounded by busts of saints and allegories, the moon and perhaps the sun – against a background of niello-inlaid scrollwork. The base and crystal balls would have been added in the 19th century. It is likely that this reliquary was made for the Notre-Dame de Dendermonde church in Flanders.