Some of the most precious and finely wrought objects of the Middle Ages were made for use in the liturgical service of the church. Crosses and censers were carried in procession, while reliquaries, caskets, and shrines held the remains of saints or objects associated with them. Because of the sacred function of these objects, they were made of the most valuable materials available: ivory, bronze, enamel, rock crystal, and gold. Through their hallowed contents or their liturgical function, these objects provided access to the divine, yet they were also displays of wealth and craftsmanship. Censers and vessels were cast in bronze, while other objects, such as caskets and reliquaries, were assembled from a wooden core and covered with ivory, enamel, and gilded metal. Often, if such costly materials were out of reach, wood or other modest materials were painted and gilded to resemble them.
The distinctive five-lobed handle and ornamental latch of this box, made of ivory plaques set around a wooden core, are typical of a group of objects made in Sicily in the twelfth century, when the island was under Norman Christian rule. Prior to the first Norman invasion, in 1060, Sicily had been under the rule of the Muslim Fatimids, and Fatimid culture continued to have a presence there well into the twelfth century. Objects in the Middle Ages frequently circulated across cultures: this casket seems to have been imported in the twelfth century to Germany, where its perceived exoticism and precious materials made it desirable for use as a reliquary, despite its probable origin as a jewelry casket or wedding box. The box eventually became part of what is known as the Guelph Treasure, a hoard of objects housed for over nine hundred years in the Cathedral of Saint Blaise, in Brunswick, Germany.
