Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem
“Treasures from the The Holy Sepulcher”
On loan from Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem
Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Ok!! this exhibit was a highlight of the trip! Second only to seeing my granddaughters, of course! I worked the trip times around this museum and exhibit. And it was what I hoped for - so amazing! The vestments are ancient and yet were still stunning - vivid and rich colors. The metal work for the altars and communion sets gleamed in the light - so ornate and beautiful. It’s hard to imagine any of it being used in worship, but as clergy I am ready to give it a whirl!
This extraordinary exhibition showcases more than sixty objects in silver, gold, enamel, and precious jewels, given by European monarchs and rulers to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, a site of Christian devotion and pilgrimage, where they have been used in religious ceremonies for centuries. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is one of my favorite places and a place of archeological significance - the crucifixion and empty tomb of Jesus.
Including dazzling reliquaries, crosses, candlesticks, chalices, and vestments representing the height of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century craftsmanship, many of these objects have no equivalent anywhere else in the world. Traveling to only two venues in North America, the exhibition represents the first and possibly only time these treasures will be seen in the US.
And lest you think I was only self centered on this trip I bought Margery a Jerusalem Cross at the museum! (pictured below)
The Kimball Museum deserves a post on its own! So many famous paintings and pieces of art. But that’s another topic…
