Detail of one of about 40 enamel reliquary caskets made in Limoges to house the relics of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered by knights in 1170. This casket dates from about 1180. Joanna, the daughter of Henry II, may have brought it with her when she became queen of Sicily in 1177. It was found in Naples by an envoy of King George III and donated to the Society of Antiquaries in 1801. The saint's murder is shown on the front and his burial is depicted on the lid...
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