Cathedral Treasury, Trier

Byzantine ivory relief of a reliquary procession from the 5th century, probably Constantinople. 13 x 26 cm (5.11 x 10.23 in).

Depicting a procession of a relic shrine into a city with crowds of spectators looking on, this magnificent panel is filled with action and detail. It is an artifact of great importance, not only for its age and artistic qualities but also for what it tells us about the veneration of relics and court ceremony in Late Antiquity. The minute detail with which it is carved allows historians to observe even the garments and gestures of the Byzantine empire.

This large relief panel probably decorated the side of a reliquary. It shows a relic shrine accompanied by two priests sitting in an ornate four-wheeled wagon drawn by mules. In front are men carrying candles, who are being received by the Empress, who holds a wooden cross. Behind her stands a church where the relic will be enshrined, which was not quite finished in time: workers are still laying tiles on the roof. In the background, men look out of windows while singing hymns and swinging censers.