ST GEORGE STATUETTE 145
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his dazzling reliquary features
a statuette of England’s patron
saint, St George, astride his
horse, trampling underfoot
the dragon he is famous for slaying.
The horse is chalcedony, clad with
a jewel-encrusted enamel caparison
and crested with rubies and pearls.
The dragon, scaled with emeralds and
ruby-studded, has a white enamel
belly. St George’s armour is minutely
detailed and the helmet’s visor may
even be lifted to reveal his face, which
resembles the work’s commissioner,
Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria. The gold
pedestal that supports knight, horse,
and dragon is richly adorned with
diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, agate,
opals, and other gems. A drawer decorated
with the Bavarian coat of arms in sapphire
and enamel contains the relics of St George.The original legend of St George
and the dragon was brought back
from the East and adapted by the
European Crusaders. Various
versions of the story are told
and, while they may be viewed
as pure fiction or as an allegorical
account of Christianity’s triumph
over paganism, it is recorded
that St George himself was a
historical figure. While serving
as a soldier in the Roman army,
he was tortured and executed
after refusing the Emperor
Diocletian’s personal request
to renounce his Christianity.
Impressed by St George’s
faith, Diocletian’s wife, the Empress
Alexandra, converted to Christianity
and was also executed. It is possible
she is the origin of the “princess” the
knight rescues in the legend. St George’s
tomb is located in Lydda, Palestine, and
relics from his remains are preserved in
holy sites all around the world.Key dates
275 CE–2000s
200 CE300 CE400 CE500 CE1600c.275–285 CE St George
is born to a Greek noble
family in Lydda (modern-day
Palestine). He later joins the
Emperor Diocletian’s army
at Nicomedia24 February, 303 CE
Diocletian issues an
edict declaring all Christian
soldiers should be arrested.
St George publicly rejects
the emperor’s edict23 April, 303 CE
St George is tortured
on a wheel of swords and
beheaded. He is soon after
regarded as a martyr1586 Archbishop Ernst
of Cologne (1554–1612)
sends relics of St George to
his brother Duke Wilhelm V
of Bavaria (1548–1626),
known as “the Pious”
1590 Duke Wilhelm
commissions the statuette.
Court goldsmith Hans von
Schwanenburg of Utrecht
designs it; Hans Schleich
of Munich creates it2000s The reliquary
remains in the Treasury
of the Munich Residence494 CE St George is
canonized by Pope Gelasius18002000(^1500) St George on the
torture wheel
It is not an
impure idol,
it is a pious
memorial
Bernard of Angers
11th-century chronicler
St George statuette
A band of armed Crusaders embarking for the Holy Land,
where the legend of St George originated, in an illuminated
manuscript from the Statutes of the Order of St EspritSt Alexandra – martyr,
Roman empress, and
wife of Diocletian△ St George slaying the dragon in an early 16th-century painting by Raphael1600s The statuette is
displayed on important feast
days on the altar of the
Rich Chapel in the Munich
Residence, Germany144-145_STO_Reliquary_with_Horse.indd 145 13/06/2016 10:39