Camino Photo of the Day: the Conques Treasury

During and immediately after the French Revolution, most of the church buildings and virtually all of the treasures of the church throughout France were plundered by the new government. In Conques, however, where the faith still ran deep, the villagers themselves “looted” the abbey treasury and stored the various items in their cellars and barns until the government agents left the area. They then returned them to the abbey. Today, you can see many of them in the Abbey Museum. The story of this reliquary, however, is a little different. It was actually discovered in 1875 during the demolition of a wall built around the choir at the end of the 16th century. Here’s how the museum describes it:

This wooden chest covered with silver-studded leather is adorned with thirty-one enamelled medallions and is dating from the time of Abbot Boniface (c. 1110-1130) according to the engraving on one medallion. The chest contains many large bones of Saint Foy.

The decoration of griffins and birds is as remarkable as the technique employed, champlevé enamels on gilded copper.

This is a work of major importance in the history of medieval enamelling allowing it to be dated and to localize the passing from one technique to another, cloisonné to champlevé.

Date: 27 August 2023
Place: Conques, Aveyron Département, Region of Occitanie, France

Maps!