Among the most valuable items which are today exhibited in the Collection of sacral art of the parish Church of St. Blasius, is most certainly the painting of the “Blessed Leon Bembo” (81), the work of Paolo VENEZIAN (+1362) from 1321. The painting (dimensions 168 x 76 cm) was created using the technique of tempera paint on wood with a gold background, and annotated and dated with the text: ” MCCCXXXI Factu fuit hoc. opus”. Initially this painting was the lid of a wood sarcophagus in which the relics – body of the Blessed Leon Bembo were kept. Today the sarcophagus is kept in the Church of St. Blasius in Vodnjan, while the painted lid is part of the Collection.
The painting is divided vertically into three equal fields, given that the lateral fields are also divided horizontally into two wholes. The central field has a gilded background according to Byzantine pattern, in the middle is a painted, standing and strict image of the Blessed Leon Bembo, Bishop of Modona in Morea. Next to the head of the blessed, antithetically are two angels drawn in a cloud, while next to his right leg is a miniature petitioner.
In the left upper part of the field is a depiction of the Blessed in a grave, illuminated by light and surrounded by people. In the bottom left field is an incorporated depiction of a scene in which a blind girl looked at Bembo’s grave. In the right upper part of the field is a depiction of the catafalque of the Blessed over which the bishop, priests and nuns are praying. In the bottom part of the right field is a depiction of the healing of a dying girl through the intercession of the Blessed.
The painting is considered not only one of the most valuable exhibits of the Collection of sacral art of the parish Church of St. Blasius, but also among the most valuable art works of this part of Croatia from the XIVth century.
The triptych from the XVth century of “Blessed Leon Bembo” (80), is the work of Lazar BASTIANI (+1512). The fields of the triptych are separated by dovetailed columns with a base and capital of gilded wood. In the central field of the triptych is an image of the Blessed, while on both sides are two kneeling nuns. In the left field is a depiction of the Blessed’s grave, a deathly ill and healed girl. In the right field is a depiction of a girl who has looked at the Blessed’s grave.
Underneath each depiction is an inscription of a Latin text and the year. The portraits of the characters are alive, the feelings on the faces are expressed with a trained painting technique. The ambiance in which the characters are located is becoming and rich. The interior of the house is colourfully painted with expressed architectural elements.
A special significance is given to the Collection of sacral art by two characteristic paintings of the Madonna. The first is the “Madonna the Protector” in the technique of tempera paint on wood, the excellent work of the Venetian master from the XV century, subsequently framed in a luxurious gilded Baroque wooden frame. The second painting is the motif of the “Madonna with Child”, a Byzantine type Glikofilousa. The work was created in the typical Veneto-Crete manner on a gold background, and is dated in the period of the XV-XVIth century. The painting was subsequently framed in a wooden gilded frame.
The tradition of keeping relics exists in almost all religions. In Christianity martyrs were first venerated, and then later other saints too. The keeping of relics in Christianity reaches back to the time of the catacombs. This custom in Rome quickly spread around the world. In the absence of possession of the entire body, at least some part of it was obtained and venerated as if it was the whole body. Given that barbaric persecution prevented pilgrims from visiting the graves of martyrs and saints outside town walls, a custom was founded where the remains of martyrs were carried from town to town and that in their honour churches were built. Given that mass was once held at the graves of martyrs, it soon became customary for relics to be built into church altars on which mass was held.
How are saints proclaimed? For the proclamation of sainthood in old times the voice of the people was enough or the approval of the local bishop (as is the custom in the present day Greek church). Individual church communities placed their most deserving sons on the lists of saints. Charles the Great ordered that the veneration of saints should be approved by bishops, while the cult of the new saint had to be approved by the regional synod. Pope John XV proclaimed the first saint, bishop Uldarik in 993. The Council of Lateran in 1215 determined that the veneration of a new relic may only be decided upon by the Pope, and Pope Gregory IX, stipulated in 1234 that only the Holy See in Rome shall be entitled to proclaim saints.
During barbaric ransacking of the graves of saints and other relics were gradually transferred to Rome and safer Mediterranean countries. In the period of the crusades and especially after conquering Constantinople in 1204, many relics from the East were transferred and stored in the West. The veneration of relics developed the most in the early Middle Ages. The princes of small European countries, church dignitaries and Charles the Great himself made efforts to procure the greatest possible number of relics from Rome and surrounding localities, while the transfer or exhibition of relics was accompanied by the greatest possible ceremonies. These customs led to abuse, trading of relics and fraud, so the Council of Trent in 1545 determined that each relic must have an authentic certificate or seal from the highest church authority.
The reliquaries exhibited in the Collection of sacral art are of the most diverse shapes, which depend on the shape and content of the relic. There are some in the shape of a glass, pyxis, cup, monstrance, cross, small chest and others, and as a rule are wrapped in small pieces of silk or cloth of various origin and quality. Usually it is also noted from which part of the body the relic originates, the date of the saint’s or martyr’s veneration, and the symbol: M(atryr), C(onfessor), A(bbot), B(ishop), etc.
The group of reliquaries made from aerated Murano glass represents a unique collection of items of this kind in Croatia. Glass reliquaries in the shape of a cup with a lid originated from the period from the XVIth to the XVIIIth century. Mostly round in shape with a smooth or profiled base and foot in the shape of a balustrade or flattened apple decorated with groves and decorations of glass speckles of coloured Murano glass. The cores of the flowers on top of the lids of such reliquaries are also glass. The so called “wings” (alette) are also made from transparent and coloured Murano glass which borders the lateral sides of the body of the glass reliquaries from the XVIth century.
These glass reliquaries of the Collection originated from Venice. They are very similar to the profane glass cups with lids from the XVIth and the XVIIth centuries. In this rich group of glass reliquaries, the reliquary of St. Leon Bishop (87) particularly stands out. It is made from Murano glass, and originates from the end of the XVIth or very beginning of the XVIIth century. This reliquary has a flat round base and nodule in the shape of a cylindrical cup with a lid decorated with profiled buttons, and on each side is decorated with “wings”.
The reliquary of St. Christopher (28) and St. Placido (29) from the end of the XVIth and beginning of the XVII century represent an interesting example of glass reliquaries. They have high and thin cylindrical shaped sheath from aerated Murano glass and nodules in the shape of flattened apples decorated with groves and speckles of blue Murano glass. They are closed with glass lids.
The reliquary of St. Catherine (34) from the XVII century represents a beautiful example of a glass reliquary. It was made from aerated Murano glass, has a cylindrical shape, and rests on a round profiled bas. The nodule is in the shape of a flattened apple with groves, while the profiled lit is decorated with a stylised flower.
Metal and glass reliquaries
Among the reliquaries made of metal in the Collection, the reliquary of The thorn of Christ’s crown particularly stands out, made of gilded silver from the late Gothic period (19). On the step-shaped base, sits the pedestal and column with nodule on which are engraved the images of four prophets: Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and Zechariah. The cylindrically shaped sheath made from transparent Murano glass is closed with a lid made of gilded silver. The lid is decorated with long niches in which are set miniatures of the twelve apostles. The reliquary originated somewhere from the XVth century.
Also worth a mention is the cross with relics of the pillar and Christ’s clothing (18), closed in a crystal prism. The arms of the cross are decorated on the ends with cast braces. The reliquary is the work of the Venetian master and dates back to the XVIth century.
The reliquary of St. Anthony of Padua from the XVIth century richly decorated with a six leaf base and cylindrically shaped glass sheath, positioned on a gilded metal pedestal is also a special piece of artwork. The sheath is closed off with a lid with a sculpture of St. Anthony. The low nodule in the shape of a demicalottes is connected at the foot of the base of the reliquary with cast braces. The base is decorated with a bubble motif, and is supported by a profiled column which ends with acanthus leaves. On both sides of the sheath are aerated vegetable braces.
Also interesting is the reliquary of St. Mary of Egypt (20), which dates back to the end of the XVth or beginning of the XVIth century. It is made from gilded copper, the reliquary has an indented and decorated polygonal base and cylindrically shaped transparent glass sheath set in a stand with puffed decorations. The sheath has a closed lid with groves on top of which sits a cross.
The quality reliquary from 1578 (44) with a relic of a piece of cloth on which St. Simon the Prophet held the Child Jesus is also from Venetian provenance. It is made from gilded silver, with the upper part of the base decorated with skilfully embossed and thick leaf ornamentation. The sheath of a cylindrical shape made of aerated Murano glass is set in a basket with ribbed decorations. The upper part of the sheath is closed with a lid and decorated with ribbed ornaments, and on top sits a small cast silver figure.
The reliquary of the Holy Cross from the end of the XVIth century (41), in the shape of an edicule with a profiles triangle base is also shaped accordingly. The edicule consists of two channelled columns which support the semicircle canals framed from the exterior side by aerated braces and small cross. Inside the canals is a diagonally laid crucifix. On all sides of the edicule are cast silver figures of adoring angels.
Two reliquaries made of gilded copper originated from 1732; these are the reliquary of St. Lawrence (104) and of St. Fosca (148). Both have round bases decorated with metal with puffed decorations and closed with a rich ornamented lid. On the first reliquary is a lid with a small cast figure of St. Lawrence, while on the other one is a cast crucifix.
Wood and glass reliquaries
In this significant group of wooden reliquaries, the reliquaries of St. Clement (50) and St. Gudencia (49) from 1620 particularly stand out, with their high and narrow cylindrical glass sheaths set in a stand of turned and profiled gold-plated wood. They are closed with profiles and wooden lids. The sheaths on each side are decorated with carved wooden braces.
The reliquary of St. Basa (39) originated from the end of the XVI or beginning of the XVII century. It is made of gold-plated wood with a round base and cylindrical painted stand from which rises a cylindrically shaped glass sheath with relic.
Particularly interesting is the reliquary with 49 small sheaths of relics of saints in the form of a big picture (dimensions 70 x 60 cm), with carved and gold-plated wooden frame (143). According to the basic characteristics and round brass radial ornament in the middle, the reliquary was approximately dated the XIXth century.
Church vessels and equipment
Of the exhibited church vessels in the Collection of sacral art, seven chalices (109 – 113, 139, 141) dating from the XVIIth to the XIXth century, particularly stand out, and are the work of Venetian masters. They are made from embossed silver, they are beautifully decorated with gold-plated calyx. Two chalices belong from the beginning of the XIXth century which are marked with the seal Regno d’Italia (139, 141).
The Roman missal (145) which is encased in silver from the first half of the XIXth century and with the seal Regno d’Italia, particularly stands out. On both sides of the missal, bound in red leather in the corners are floral rosettes with stylised leaves. On the front side, in the middle, is a medallion with a relief with the image of St. Blasius, on the back side is a medallion with the image of the Madonna.
Of the church equipment, among the metal candlestick holders, two pairs of elegantly shaped Baroque silver altar candlestick holders, made in Venice at the end of the XVIIth century and in the XVIII century (126 – 129) particularly stand out. The triangular base sits on feet shaped like lions paws, while the other part is decorated by embossed vegetable ornamentation. The nodule, in the shape of a pear, is also decorated, while the plate for the candle is in the shape of a deep floral calyx.
This group of church items also included silver, Baroque shaped floral vases (122,123) decorated with embossed floral ornamentations from the XVII/XVIIIth centuries. Two silver canonical tablets (124,125) made in Venice in 1758, while the other two (130, 131) of the same provenance date back to the XIXth century and have the seal Regno d’Italia. The work of Viennese goldsmiths, from the second half of the XIXth century, are the silver censer (140) and thuribles for Frankincense (142), while the procession silver crucifix (107) originated in the workshops of Venetian masters in 1780. The tips of the arms of the crucifix are widened at the ends and decorated with medallions with images of the evangelists.
Particularly standing out in this group of church items exhibited in the Collection, with its artistic quality of silver and partial gold-plating is a monstrance (147), which belongs to the type of the so called sun monstrances from the XVIIIth century. On the Baroque shaped pedestal is a column in the shape of a winged cherub, carrying the upper part of the monstrance framed with gold-plated rays of light.
The Neo-Gothic crucifix (144) of the Viennese master from the XIXth century, engraved with biblical depictions and scenes from the life of Christ, contains five relics and in a special way completes the collection of reliquaries of the parish Church of St. Blasius.
Church vestment items made from velvet, brocade, taffeta, damask, satin and silk are exhibited in the Collection.
The most valuable are the velvet dark blue-purple maniple (54) and stole (53) from the first half of the XV century, which according to tradition belonged to St. Lawrence Justinian, the first Venetian Patriarch (1380 – 1456). In the exhibition there are also five chasubles: one of white satin and silk (163) from the XVIIIth century, thickly decorated with plant ornamentation, it is interlaced with gold thread and bordered with a gold band; from the same period is also a chasuble made from silk brocade (168) of a yellow colour with rose decorations and leaf motifs; the purple brocade chasuble (171) decorated with large flowers in gold-yellow and grey colours with a golden band along the centre, dates back to the XIXth century; the chasuble of white damask (178) woven with wreaths of flowers, leaves and wheat, and bordered with a gold band, originating from the XVIIIth century; the fifth exhibited chasuble is of white taffeta (181), decorated with garlands of roses and golden threads, and was made at the end of the XVIIIth century.
A mitre made from white moiré (179) from the XIXth century, belonged to the provost of the Vodnjan cathedral chapter.
A special mention must also be given to the beautiful canopy (186) which was used during ceremonious church processions accompanied by priests. It is decorated on the sides with fringes, while the brocade is woven with golden thread. On both sides of the canopy there are beautifully embroidered images of St. Blasius and a symbol of the Eucharist. It originated in the XVIIIth century.
Covers for chalices or ciborium, stoles and maniples along with other church vestments that were decorated with gold and silver threads, enrich the collection of valuable textile items.
Wooden sculptures and objects
Seven sculptures are exhibited in the Collection. The wooden sculpture “Saint Martyr” (161) has artistic characteristics of the southern Austrian cultural circle XVI/XVIIth century. The polychrome wooden sculpture of St. John (162) and the “Saint” (160) created in the rococo style of the XVIIIth century. A significant group of wooden sculptures are comprised of two pairs of rustically shaped angel torchbearers (155 – 158) from the XVIIth century. In terms of the formation style they could belong to the Furlan-Istrian sculpture circle, and were probably imported for the needs of the Vodnjan church.
Of the large collection of wooden gold-plated Baroque candlesticks from the XVIIth century, only two items are exhibited (116, 117) and one characteristic red-white candlestick (118) from the second half of the same century. Three items of Baroque canon panels of gilded wood (76 – 78) are the product of artistic carving from the XVIIth century.
Of the seven preserved wooden retables of the parish Church of St. Blasius, separately exhibited is the small tabernacle – retable (159) due to its exceptional architectural concept. Namely, before 313 an ordinary wooden table served as the altar, while from the IVth century a stone slab such as mensa is used. After the VIth century, the use of canopies with columns above the altar in churches began, while from the IX century it was commonplace to raise the wooden panels behind the mensa on which relics and statues could be placed. Such a wooden construction was called a retable. Somewhat later, the retable began to also be placed on the mensa, while in the Gothic period they are suddenly increased in height and become in the true sense of the word “exhibits” of artistic work, paintings and statues.
The exhibition retable of the Church of St. Blasius has on each side of the tabernacle two niches each, which are divided by channelled columns. The tabernacle is emphasised, on the upper part it has candle holders, while on the very top there are a few compacted angel heads which were holding up the cross, that is, image of the Risen Christ, given that the altar served as Christ’s grave. This work of art was created from gilded wood and dates back to the XVII century.